WASHINGTоN (AP) – With 18 rebounds and 19 of his 35 points coming in the first quarter, Anthony Davis helped the Los Angeles Lakers win their eighth straight game on Wednesday, 125-120 over the Washingtоn Wizards.

Rui Hachimura scored 19 points for the Lakers against his old team, while LeBron James finished with 25 points and nine assists. Davis made 15 of her 17 free throws without missing, and he was 10 of 17 from the field.

With 29, Jordan Poole led Washingtоn.

Given their position in the Western Conference at nine, the Lakers would need to win twice in the play-in round in order to secure a spot in the main playoff bracket. However, they’re trying to advance. As of Wednesday, Los Angeles was one and a half games behind both Phoenix and Sacramento.

Just one loss separates the Wizards from the franchise record of 63.

Tuesday night, Washingtоn had defeated Milwaukee admirably, and against the Lakers, the Wizards converted their first five 3-point shots. Early on, Washingtоn had a 19-8 lead. Los Angeles’ troubles increased when Davis fell to the floor briefly after a wayward elbow from Wizards 7-footer Tristan Vukcevic.

Unfortunately for Washingtоn, though, Davis was able to continue playing. Because the Wizards lacked the size to contain him, Davis dominated the remainder of the quarter. He had already attempted and Һit 11 free throws by the time it ended, and the Lakers were ahead 39-29.

Los Angeles had a seven-point lead at the half and opened the third quarter with a 9-2 run to establish a 76-62 lead. Over the course of a six-game journey, the Lakers went 5-1 with 18 points from D’Angelo Russell.

In the fourth quarter, Washingtоn closed the gap to two points and was using their zone defense to some effect when James whirled around Jared Butler and made a layup to make the final score 109-105. And thus began a 12-0 run.

With the game apparently in hand after the Lakers had taken out James and Davis, the Wizards put up eight consecutive points to make the score 125-120. With 17.4 seconds left, a Los Angeles turnover was followed by the return of James and Davis.

Butler tried a three-point shot, but Davis stopped it, and the Lakers survived.

When James spun to drive to the basket and elbowed Deni Avdija in the second quarter, he was penalized for a flagrant foul.