WASHINGTON — No Anthony Davis, no problem for the Lakers on Thursday night.
Because even without their All-Star big man, the Lakers had advantages across the board against a Washington Wizards team that’s contending to be one of the worst teams in NBA history.
And Coach JJ Redick’s message was simple with his team prepared to be without Davis for at least the next week because of an abdominal injury: “Just stay within your role. It’s all we’re asking you to do.”
The message was well received, with Thursday being one of the least stressful victories this season for the Lakers, who blew out the Wizards, 134-96, at Capital One Arena to move to 3-1 on their ongoing “Grammy” road trip.
The Lakers (27-19) will close out the non-Southern California portion of the trip with a prime-time game against the New York Knicks on Saturday at Madison Square Garden before playing the Clippers on Tuesday at Intuit Dome.
LeBron James led the way with 24 points and 11 assists and no turnovers in just 27 minutes.
James was one of seven Lakers who scored in double figures.
Rui Hachimura scored 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting (4 for from 3-point range) against his former team.
Shake Milton had his best game since the Lakers acquired him in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets last month, finishing with 21 points, four assists, four rebounds and two steals.
Milton, who has mostly struggled as a Laker, was in the rotation in light of Gabe Vincent missing his third consecutive game because of a bruised left knee that he suffered at the start of the trip in Saturday’s victory over the Golden State Warriors.
Austin Reaves added 17 points, six rebounds and five assists. Jaxson Hayes, who started in place of Davis, recorded a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double to go with three blocked shots in 24 minutes.
Max Christie also had 13 points and was a significant reason why Wizards guard Jordan Poole (19 points on 5-of-15 shooting) struggled offensively. Rookie Dalton Knecht added 10 points and Jarred Vanderbilt had four points, seven rebounds and four steals in 16 minutes as he continues to work his way back from surgeries on both feet.
The outcome of Thursday’s game was never in doubt.
The Lakers led by 13 (42-29) at the end of the first quarter, by 33 (78-45) at halftime, by 35 (105-70) at the end of the third quarter and by as many as 42 (117-75) in the fourth.
The Wizards (6-41) lost their 16th consecutive game – their second losing streak of at least 16 games this season. Their winning percentage is the fifth-worst in league history.
More to come on this story.