austin reaves

The Lakers followed the lead of their oldest member, the triple-double producing LeBron James, in dispatching the Wizards 120-101 at Crypto.com Arena on Monday night.

Two days off between games left James looking spry, with lob dunks and dunks on the fast break contributing to his 21 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. James was eight for 16 from the field in notching his third triple-double of the season and the 125th of his 23-year NBA career, ranking him fifth all time.

At 41 years and 90 days old, James once again became the oldest player in league history to record a triple-double, passing his previous mark (41 years, 79 days).

Lakers star LeBron James dunks against Washington at Crypto.com Arena on Monday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

“I mean, I’ve had moments more this year and last year that I’ve enjoyed more in the moment,” James said. “It’s pretty cool to know that I’m at this point in my career (and) I’m still able to do those things, man. It’s super dope. It’s super humbling. And I just try to put the work in and continue to put the work in and those are the results of it.”

James achieved the triple-double despite playing just 33 minutes.

“Yeah, I don’t know what to say. He’s very praise-worthy,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “I tried to give every version of the same soliloquy about his longevity. But I don’t have anything for you tonight.”

For James and his teammates, Sunday’s practice had “value” because it allowed them to clean up some things, do some “teaching” and get some “reps” that will pay off with the playoffs approaching.

They put that into action against the Wizards, but the Lakers did so without star guard Luka Doncic, who did not play after being given a one-game suspension by the NBA for his 16th technical foul.

Austin Reaves took over the primarily ballhandling duties with Doncic out, running the show in delivering a near double-double with 19 points and nine assists. Reaves was just four for 11 from the field and he missed all four of his three-point attempts, but he was 11 for 12 from the line.

Lakers guard Luke Kennard, center, drives between Washington’s Tre Johnson, left, and Jamir Watkins during the first half Monday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Backup center Jaxson Hayes was outstanding in scoring 19 points on eight-for-eight shooting, including a three-pointer with six minutes and 41 seconds left.

Luke Kennard had 19 points off the bench, knocking down four of five from three-point range.

Deandre Ayton was a force for the Lakers, his efficient five-for-five shooting leading to 12 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.

Each of them played their part to help the Lakers win for the 12th time in 13 games and limit the effect of Doncic’s absence.

Doncic leads the NBA in scoring (33.7 points per game), is fourth in assists (8.2), second three-pointers made (4.0) and first in points scored in the first quarter (12.0). He’ll return against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night.

“Yeah, I mean we had a professional approach,” James said. “We came in, we got the job done, understanding it doesn’t matter who we’re playing, we’re still trying to build habits for the postseason. So, a good win for us.”

Although the Lakers won handily, it was against a Wizards team tied for the worst record in the NBA (17-58). Washington has lost 18 of its past 19 games.

For the Lakers (49-26), the game was about making strides from a practice they rarely get to have.

“The value is being able to continue to improve,” Redick said before the game. “And again, I said this, we’ve placed a heavy emphasis on what we’re teaching in film and what we’re cleaning up in film, because we haven’t had court time to do that. So [Sunday], it was some of the game clean-up stuff. All the guys got some reps doing some things that they probably won’t do during a real game.”

On a night when my family watched Austin Reaves pull off the miraculous intentional missed free throw put-back basket on the way to a thrilling Laker overtime win against the Denver Nuggets, we talked more about the newest Lakers super fan on the way home. Kudos to Bill Plaschke for recognizing and capturing the power of 6-year-old Jackson Tuyay’s passionate cheering that helped ignite the laid-back crowd and inspire the Lakers to a huge comeback win. As a lifelong Laker fan since the same age as Jackson it was so awesome to see such innocent and authentic passion for the Lakers. In an arena full of stars in the stands and on the court it was the voice of a 6-year-old that reminded us how awesome it is to be a Lakers fan for life!

Paul Stapleton
Los Angeles

To quote Jackson Tuyay, “Yeaaaaah!” It looks like the Lakers can play some defense and beat the better teams after all.

Vaughn Hardenberg
Westwood

The Los Angeles Times welcomes expressions of all views. Letters should be brief and become the property of The Times. They may be edited and republished in any format. Each must include a valid mailing address and telephone number. Pseudonyms will not be used.

Email: sports@latimes.com

Lakers center Deandre Ayton shoots over the Timberwolves’ defense on Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena.

(Ethan Swope / Associated Press)

With 33 missed shots between both teams in the first quarter, Deandre Ayton certainly had plenty of opportunities for rebounds, and the 7-foot center made the most of them.

Ayton almost single-handedly kept the Lakers in contention in the first half, scoring 12 of his 14 points in the second quarter and had a first-half double-double with 11 rebounds.

Ayton, who was scoreless in the first quarter but had six rebounds, scored three of his first four baskets off offensive rebounds. The only exception came when Reaves drove in the lane, wrapped a pass around his back as he found Ayton cutting down the lane for a vicious two-handed dunk. The crowd roared.

“He was a monster,” said Reaves, who had 31 points and eight assists. “… He was the only person scoring for us efficiently and then just being high energy on the other end, just doing what he does. That’s what we need him to do. When he does that, we’re a different team and we’re thankful to have him.”

Ayton’s effort has waned throughout the season, sometimes resulting in him getting benched late in games. But he provided major lifts in marquee wins against the Knicks (six points, eight rebounds) and Timberwolves to earn the confidence and trust of his teammates.

The Lakers needed Ayton at his best after backup centers Jaxson Hayes (back soreness) and Maxi Kleber (lumbar back strain) were ruled out of the game about 15 minutes before tip-off. Hayes was starring in his reserve role in recent weeks, bringing much-needed energy off the bench and a seamless connection with Doncic, but hearing that Ayton would have to hold down the front line by himself gave the former No. 1 draft pick extra motivation.

“I know I’m the only big,” Ayton said, “so I try my best to stay out there as long as possible, especially down the stretch.”