EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — That was unexpected and, if you’re a Lakers fan, unfortunate.

The Lakers trailed by 19 to the Washington Wizards and ultimately lost, 116-107, as their defense had an off night Wednesday in the nation’s capital.

Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook nudged the Wizards to victory and pushed the Lakers down a little closer to the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference standings.

The Lakers needed the victory for a variety of reasons, mainly because of the bothersome Mavericks, who routed Golden State on Tuesday and now sit 1.5 games behind the Lakers for fifth place in the Western Conference.

The Lakers were supposedly in the midst of a soft spot in their schedule, favored by 1.5 points over Washington and with their next two games against sub-.500 teams (Sacramento and Toronto).

But oddsmakers don’t take part in the games. Westbrook and Beal suited up for the Wizards, the beginning and end of the fun times for the Lakers.

Westbrook was his usual flurry of supernatural speed and energy, finishing with 18 points, a highly impressive 18 rebounds and 14 assists. He was presumably tired after the game.

Beal was his typically efficient self, scoring 27 points on 11-for-18 shooting.

The Lakers weren’t the first team to be run ragged by the Wizards’ backcourt. Nor will they be the last this season.

“We just allowed them to get into a rhythm. We didn’t do a good job of turning the water off,” Lakers center Andre Drummond said.

Drummond was the most efficient Lakers player but logged only 20 minutes because the Lakers trailed by too many points in the fourth quarter. He finished with 17 points on eight-for-12 shooting and 11 rebounds.

Anthony Davis scooped up some of Drummond’s time at center in the fourth quarter and staged a brief Lakers comeback. Davis scored 26 points, including 14 in the last nine minutes.

Davis also flashed some good individual defensive stats, collecting three steals and two blocked shots.

But the Wizards were too much.

Beyond Westbrook and Beal, center Alex Len had 18 points and 9 rebounds for the Wizards, who won for the 11th time in their last 13 games.

The Lakers, meanwhile, went 1-3 on their road trip. They’ll get LeBron James back relatively soon from a severely sprained ankle but the schedule gets tougher next week with games against Denver, the Clippers, Portland and Phoenix.