The Los Angeles Lakers let the lowly Washington Wizards hang around a bit more than expected on Wednesday night, but ultimately Anthony Davis and LeBron James prevailed.

The former was fantastic in the 125-120 win, putting up 35 points, 18 rebounds, three blocks and two steals. The latter had another workmanlike performance by his own lofty standards, with 25 points, nine assists, six rebounds and three steals.

The Wizards, behind Jordan Poole's 29 points, outscored the Lakers by 10 points in the fourth quarter and made things hairy for a 44-33 Lakers team that needs every last win in its last-gasp effort to avoid the Play-In Tournament.

Ultimately, AD and LeBron weren't going to let them lose, and the duo earned its plaudits on social media after the contest:

The Lakers are now just two games back of the New Orleans Pelicans for the final automatic playoff berth, though both the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns are just one game behind New Orleans.

The Lakers are red hot at the moment, winners of eight of their last nine games. Even if they fail to avoid the Play-In Tournament, they aren't a team anybody is itching to play at the moment.

Winning, meanwhile, is not something the Wizards (15-62) have done much of at the moment. That made it surprising that the Lakers couldn't bury the Wizards late in the game, a referendum on a veteran bench.

But at this point for the Lakers, a win's a win. More often than not, lately, they are finding a way to secure them.