Washington Wizards: 3 takeaways from their first loss of the season

The Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Lakers did their fair share of trash-talk off the court. On it, the Lakers got the last laugh with a 102-99 victory in overtime.

The Washington Wizards dropped their first game of the young 2017-18 season to the Los Angeles Lakers last night, squandering a 10-point lead entering the fourth quarter.

The Wizards got 28 points from Bradley Beal and 18 points from John Wall, but it was another nightmare on the defensive end for the second straight game.

John Wall had the upper hand in the one-on-one battle with Lonzo Ball in the scoring column, but Ball finished with six points, 10 assists and eight rebounds and the victory in the end.

Washington allowed 54 points in the paint and 12 second-chance points to the Lakers. They allowed 52 points in the paint and 16 second-chance points against the Denver Nuggets on Oct. 23.

It was another rough game for them in the frontcourt as Lakers’ forward Larry Nance Jr. went off for 18 points and 10 rebounds on 8-of-10 shooting. Second-year forward Brandon Ingram had a team-high 19 points with 10 rebounds as well.

The Washington Wizards played well in the second and third quarters, but in the first and fourth, it was a totally different story as they put up less than 20 points in each one. Here’s a look at three takeaways from the Wizards’ first loss of the season.