Brandon Ingram scored a career-high 36 points but the Los Angeles Lakers couldn’t pull themselves out an early deficit and suffered a 121-105 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Lakers fell to 6-11 without LeBron James and lost a second time in three games since Rajon Rondo returned.
Perhaps sparked by the return of Jimmy Butler, the 76ers jumped out to a 14-2 lead. Ben Simmons also put his imprint on the game during that time, regularly making the Lakers pay for any of their nine turnovers in the first quarter.
Philadelphia took a 39-20 lead into the second quarter and stretched it to as many as 24 points. However, the Lakers awoke from their slumber and mounted a 16-0 run that electrified Staples Center.
The stretch was capped off by Ingram elevating for a slam dunk on Corey Brewer, drawing a foul and standing over his former teammate with a wry smirk.
Turnovers remained an issue and the stalled Lakers’ momentum, as Wilson Chandler responded with back-to-back 3-pointers to push the 76ers’ lead back up to 14 points. Ingram did the best he could to keep the Lakers close, scoring 15 points in the second quarter alone.
Ingram carried his hot scoring into the second half but remained the only Lakers player in double figures until the fourth quarter. Ingram tied his career high (32 points) by the end of the third quarter.
An 8-1 run cut the deficit to 99-89 with 9:30 remaining in the fourth. When the Lakers got to within nine points later in the quarter, the 76ers went to their starters to stabilize and hang on for a win.
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