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Wizards roar back to stun Lakers

Mar 8, 2012 - 6:52 AM Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Trevor Booker grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds to go with 18 points and the Wizards roared back from a 21-point second half deficit to stun the Lakers, 106-101, on Wednesday.

Nick Young's 19 points led a balanced Washington attack that saw six players score in double figures. Jordan Crawford netted 14 points, Kevin Seraphin's 14 set a career-high, and Roger Mason Jr. had 14 on 4-of-7 three-point shooting, including the go-ahead trey that completed the comeback.

JaVale McGee rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points and added 12 boards for the Wizards, who snapped a nine-game losing streak against Los Angeles.

Washington last defeated the Lakers on December 17, 2006.

"This team has some persistence in it," said Mason. "It think it's a great sign that we were able to come back like that, keep working, keep working and finally we broke through."

Kobe Bryant paced all scorers with 30 points while Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum had 19 apiece for Los Angeles, which dropped its second game in as many nights.

The Lakers, who had led since Gasol's layup broke a 9-9 tie early in the first quarter, increased their advantage to 21 points midway through the third.

But down 79-59, Washington embarked on a furious run, scoring 22 of the period's final 26 points, including 11 unanswered before the buzzer to cut their deficit to just two, 83-81.

The Wizards shot 61.9 percent from the field in the third while holding LA to a 23.5 percent mark.

Mason gave Washington its first lead since 9-8 with his trey to open the scoring in the fourth. He added another from beyond the arc on the Wizards' next possession.

Yet another three-pointer from Mason a bit later gave Washington its largest lead of the game at 98-92, but Bryant and Bynum combined to score the game's next seven points to take back the lead at the 2:52 mark.

Seraphin then made his mark, hitting a tough hook shot in the paint before accepting a pass from John Wall and slamming down a dunk. Young netted a jumper to finish off the Lakers, who missed three of their final four shots from the field.

"I was out there kind of loafing around and having a good time," said Bynum. "They caught up, they got their home crowd into it and they were able to hit shots."

Los Angeles led 29-21 after one and 64-49 at halftime.

Game Notes

The Wizards' last home win against Los Angeles took place on December 26, 2005...Young finished with a career-best six assists...Seraphin tied a career- high with nine rebounds...Washington outshot Los Angeles 46.7 percent to 39.5 percent and outrebounded the Lakers 51-42.