NBA: LeBron James' 125th triple-double takes Lakers past Wizards

LeBron James recorded the 125th triple-double of his career, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 120-101 victory over the visiting Washington Wizards on Monday.

James finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists, becoming, at 41 years and 90 days, the oldest player in NBA history to post a triple-double, surpassing his own previous record of 41 years, 79 days. This marks his third triple-double of the season.

Austin Reaves, Jaxson Hayes, and Luke Kennard each added 19 points for the Lakers (49-26), who have won 15 of their last 17 games. The team played without Luka Doncic, the league's leading scorer, who was sidelined due to a one-game suspension for technical-foul accumulation.

Hayes was perfect from the field, going 8 of 8, while Kennard made 4 of 5 from beyond the arc. The rest of the Lakers combined for 3 of 19 from three-point range.

For Washington (17-58), Will Riley scored 20 points, Justin Champagnie added 18, and Tristan Vukcevic contributed 14. The Wizards have lost 19 of their last 20 games.

The Lakers jumped to an early 11-4 lead on a Reaves-to-James alley-oop, but the Wizards fought back and led 26-25 at the end of the first quarter after Jamir Watkins’ dunk with 0.2 seconds remaining. Washington briefly extended the lead to 31-27 on a Jaden Hardy three-pointer before Los Angeles unleashed an 11-0 run in the second quarter, pulling away for a 65-44 halftime advantage.

Los Angeles continued to dominate in the third, stretching the lead to 72-48. The Wizards tried to mount a comeback with a 9-0 run to narrow the deficit to 81-71, but the Lakers answered with a 13-1 spurt in the fourth, sealing the 120-101 win.

With the victory, the Lakers strengthen their playoff positioning while the Wizards continue to struggle, dropping another game in a challenging season.

—Field Level Media/Reuters