The Los Angeles Lakers entered the nation’s capital tonight with an undefeated record against Eastern Conference opponents. They won’t be leaving Washington D.C. with that unblemished record, though, as the Washington Wizards cruised to another home win tonight.

Los Angeles Lakers 95 Washington Wizards 111

Both the Los Angeles Lakers and Washington Wizards started the game off hot right out of the gate, exchanging offense, with neither team taking control on the opposite end of the floor. It didn’t take long for the Lakers, who are top 10 in offensive efficiency, to begin pulling away with the lead. Kobe Bryant scored 15 points in the first quarter, while Nick Young, Ronnie Price, and Wesley Johnson all drained multiple shots from 3-point territory.

The Lakers gained a double-digit lead, but their hot shooting wasn’t sustainable. Led by John Wall, the Wizards turned it up on the defensive side of the floor, forcing multiple turnovers which led to easy transition points. Bradley Beal made several shots from the outside, and Paul Pierce made an and-1 basket to help cut the lead. Washington would eventually go on to take the lead before halftime.

After halftime, it was all Washington Wizards.

John Wall picked the Lakers’ poor defense apart, forced the defense to collapse, and found open players all over the court. The Lakers are the worst defensive team in the league and both their perimeter and interior defense left much to be desired. Wall and Marcin Gortat connected on multiple pick-and-roll plays, leading to a few SportsCenter worthy jams. Kris Humphries crashed the class all night long, finishing the game with 20 (!!!) total rebounds, so the Washington Wizards were able to get out in transition.

Washington pulled away with the game with just a few minutes remaining in the contest, and the game concluded with John Wall converting a four point play over Kobe. The Verizon Center was packed with Kobe fans, but it began to feel like an actual home game in the final moments of the fourth quarter. Wall received ‘MVP’ chants for his performance tonight.

Beal scored 27 points and dished out 7 assists, while Wall added 17 points and 15 assists to the tally. Gortat chipped in with 21 points and 11 rebounds of his own. Washington finished the game with 56 points in the paint, but really, it could’ve been a lot more. I thought Wall settled for way too many jump shots tonight, but that won’t take away from his otherwise brilliant performance.

Rasual Butler also gave the Washington Wizards a big lift off the bench, scoring 14 points on 5-7 shooting. Paul Pierce missed most of the fourth quarter with a toe injury and Butler filled his role late in the game.

After beating the Miami HEAT in impressive fashion on Monday night, the Washington Wizards had to close out tonight’s game against a dangerous Los Angeles Lakers team, and that’s exactly what they did tonight.

They’ve improved to 12-5 and will take on the Denver Nuggets on Friday.