LOS ANGELES — There will be times when defense is a problem for the young Los Angeles Lakers. Not on this night as they earned their first home win of the season.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit a 3-pointer with 58 seconds remaining and the Lakers handed the Washington Wizards their first loss, 102-99 in overtime Wednesday.
Wizards guard John Wall was stuffed by Julius Randle driving to the basket with less than 15 seconds left. After officials initially ruled the ball hit Randle last, a video review gave the Lakers possession, and they broke through pressure to set up a dunk by Randle.
Wall missed an off-balance 3 while being defended by Lonzo Ball as time expired.
The Lakers forced the Wizards to miss their first seven shots and then their final three.
“You have a chance to win if you can play defense,” coach Luke Walton said. “That’s kind of the message that we have been trying to deliver, so it was good to have them actually experience that for themselves in a game.”
Brandon Ingram scored 19 points for the Lakers, who dropped their first two home games. Ball had six points, eight rebounds and 10 assists in an anticipated matchup against Wall. Larry Nance Jr. added 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Caldwell-Pope scored 14.
Bradley Beal had 28 points for the Wizards, who were looking to match their best start since the 1978-79 season by winning four in a row.
Wall finished with 18 points and nine rebounds. Washington shot 41.1 percent from the field (39 of 95) and 6 of 26 on 3-pointers.
Beal made one of two free throws with 12.8 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, giving the Lakers a chance to send it to overtime when Ingram tipped in his own miss with 0.7 seconds left. Beal missed a corner 3-pointer as time expired in regulation.
The Wizards scored six straight points after Ingram tied it at 85 with 3:26 remaining, but the Lakers responded with Ingram’s jumper and a 3-pointer by Randle.
“Fourth quarter, we did too much standing around,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said. “We had more dribbles than passes and it wasn’t good basketball. Give them credit. They outplayed us down the stretch and they deserved the win tonight.”
Wall and Beal combined to attempt 10 free throws after going to the stripe at least 18 times in each of their first three games. . Jason Smith had two points and two rebounds in his first action since missing two games with a sprained right shoulder.
Nance had six points and six rebounds in the first six minutes.
The Lakers had lost five straight home games against the Wizards.
The showdown between Wall and Ball largely fizzled, especially in the first half after the rookie picked up two fouls in the first quarter.
But there was some aggression between Ingram and Wizards forward Kelly Oubre Jr. Walton thought it sparked the strong finish for Igram, who had 15 points in the second half.
“Early he seemed to be a little flustered,” Walton said. “I thought when they kind of started jawing a little bit it, for whatever reason, got Brandon to another level, and he turned a mediocre game into one where he was grabbing defensive rebounds, calling plays out in a half-court set. Not always the right play, but, hey, steps.”
Even with the Dodgers playing Game 2 of the World Series at the same time, Rams running back Todd Gurley and boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. were at Staples Center.
Lakers president of basketball operations and Dodgers co-owner Earvin “Magic” Johnson left Dodger Stadium early for a halftime on-court interview with ESPN.
The Wizards visit the Golden State Warriors on Friday night as they continue a four-game road trip.
The Lakers host the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.
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