LOS ANGELES — If not for LeBron James, the Lakers might be 0-7 since the All-Star break.

But of course they have the venerable 37-year-old, who somehow keeps piling an entire franchise on his back. The latest sampling came Friday in a 122-109 victory over the Washington Wizards at Crypto.com Arena.

James delighted the crowd with 50 points and moved several steps closer to passing Karl Malone for second on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, which could happen next weekend.

He uncorked a highlight-worthy third quarter with 19 points and didn’t stop there, hitting a flurry of fourth-quarter shots that ended with him spinning his index fingers around his ears in a “This is crazy” symbol.

It wasn’t quite as awe-inspiring as James’ 56-point effort last weekend against Golden State, but it was absolutely still something to marvel. And it helped the Lakers move to 2-5 since the All-Star break.

“I just tried to stay in that zone as long as possible,” James told Spectrum SportsNet, adding that the game was more special because his mother, Gloria, was in attendance. “I’m glad that she was here tonight.”

He became the first Lakers player with back-to-back 50-point efforts in home games since Kobe Bryant in 2007.

He’s only 135 points behind Malone on the NBA’s career scoring charts. At this rate, he could pass the former Utah power forward in a busy upcoming week with five Lakers games.

Seemingly tired of the Lakers’ inability to shed the dogged Wizards, James drilled a three-pointer, sunk a running one-handed floater and added a thunderous dunk on consecutive possessions to stake the Lakers a 74-71 lead midway through the third quarter.

He added another 14 points in the fourth quarter to help end a bizarre week for the Lakers (29-37), who remained in ninth place in the Western Conference. This was supposed to be a get-well week with three games against sub-.500 teams. It didn’t exactly start out that way with surprising road losses to San Antonio and Houston.

James helped them score a victory, finally. He made 18 of 25 shots, all eight of his free-throw attempts and added six assists.

“I just feel really good, continue to put in the work every day. On off days, I’m always thinking about the game,” James said, adding that he keeps showing up to home games five hours before tip-off for his individual on-court workout.

Friday’s game featured the return of two key players from the Lakers’ 2020 championship run.

Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope were part of the package the Lakers sent to Washington for Russell Westbrook last August.

Kuzma was solid Friday, scoring 23 points. Caldwell-Pope made only one of six shots and had four points.

“It meant a lot tonight, seeing my two brothers — KCP and Kuz,” James said. “It’s always a welcoming feeling when you see teammates who you were in a foxhole with and won a championship.”

James wasn’t the only smooth-shooting member of the Lakers. Malik Monk finished with 21 points, including five three-pointers. Talen Horton-Tucker scored 15 points, most notably a dunk on seven-footer Kristaps Porzingis in the first half.

“I think they picked up on LeBron’s energy,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “He keeps our belief strong.”

Westbrook, however, continued to struggle with his shot. He missed eight of nine shots in the first half as the Lakers trailed, 59-52, and finished with five points on two-for-11 shooting. On the plus side, he had nine assists and only one turnover.