John Wall finished with 24 points and a career high 16 assists as Washington rallied from an 18-point deficit to edge Los Angeles 103-100, spoiling the return of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol.
Trevor Ariza scored 14 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter for the Wizards, who trailed by 18 (59-41) a minute into the third quarter.
American Bryant missed the past two games with an ankle sprain and Gasol, of Spain, had sat out the last 20 games with a foot injury.
Bryant finished with 21 points and 11 assists and Gasol had just four points and eight rebounds. Bryant’s potential game tying three-point shot at the buzzer bounced off the rim.
Dwight Howard finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds for the Lakers, who have lost back-to-back contests.
The Wizards have now won five of their last six games. They saw their lead trimmed to 101-100 following a Bryant three-pointer with 2.3 seconds left.
Wall then hit two free throws with 1.5 seconds left to help seal the win.
Wizards come-from-behind to beat Lakers
