Lakers-Wizards Preview

By JORDAN GARRETSON

(AP) -- The Washington Wizards have yet to suffer a bad loss this season, consistently taking care of lesser teams.

They'll look to continue to share the basketball Wednesday night against another such opponent in the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Wizards (11-5) appear poised to build on their first playoff berth in six years with the East's second-best record. They've done so in large part by avoiding letdowns against inferior competition and are the conference's only undefeated team against sub-.500 opponents at 7-0.

"I think we're continuing to grow in that area," coach Randy Wittman said. "Are we there yet? I don't know. I can't answer that. But we're growing. That's part of maturity, continuity."

Washington is 5-4 against teams .500 or better and avenged one of those losses with a 106-86 home win over Miami on Wednesday. John Wall had 18 points and 13 assists in three quarters in what Wittman called "Probably our best game, from start to finish."

The Wizards posted their second-highest assist total with 29 on 39 field goals and rank among the league leaders with 24.7 assists per game. They lead the NBA with assists on 65.5 percent of made baskets and are 8-3 when recording at least 24 assists compared to 3-2 with 23 or fewer.

Wall's 9.3 assists per game are on pace to be a career high, and Washington is one of six teams with six players averaging at least 9.7 points.

"When we get in trouble is when we don't do that - when we over-dribble, when we hold onto the ball," Wittman said. "When we move it and react to what the defense is doing to us, we're good. That's what we always have to keep remembering."

The Lakers (5-13) are looking to win three in a row for the first time since Nov. 17-24, 2013, after Tuesday's 106-96 win at Detroit despite a season-low 12 points from Kobe Bryant, who leads the league with 25.8 points per game. They had been outscored by an average of 21.7 points in the three previous games in which Bryant finished with fewer than 21, but five other players scored in double figures to compensate Tuesday.

All of Bryant's points came on five consecutive possessions in the third quarter as the Lakers outscored the Pistons 35-20 for the period.

"I was tired," he said. "The first half, I missed a couple of easy ones. The rhythm of the game really wasn't there. Just paced it out a little bit and came out in the second half and let the game come to me. I made a couple shots and stepped on the gas."

Bryant could be primed for a better performance against the Wizards after averaging 29.1 points in his last eight meetings with them. Though Washington has limited its last two opponents to 86 points or fewer, it has been vulnerable against individual scorers lately. Opposing players have posted team scoring highs of 27, 28, 29, 30 and 21 in the last five games.

The Wizards are looking for their longest winning streak in the history of the 53-year series after taking the last three meetings and four of five following nine straight losses. Wall has averaged 27.7 points on 51.7 percent shooting and 13.0 assists during the current series winning streak.

Los Angeles is 4-0 against Eastern Conference teams.