After splitting the first two games of their road trip, the Los Angeles Lakers looked to end it on a high note on Sunday night against the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Lakers hadn’t won in Philadelphia since December of 2017, but they welcomed both LeBron James and Luka Doncic back to the lineup and they led the way to help end that streak with a 112-108 victory. The win moved the Lakers to 17-6 as they continue their impressive start to the season. The team has one of the best road records in the league at 10-3.
James hasn’t looked like his usual self since returning from sciatica, but that could be expected after having no training camp or preseason to ramp up as he got set to enter his unprecedented 23rd season.
This was the best James had looked as he was making plays for his team on both ends of the court. With the game close late, he hit a number of shots down the stretch to seal the victory for his team.
Overall in 34 minutes, James had 29 points, seven rebounds, six assists, one steal and one block on 13-of-17 shooting and 4-of-6 from 3-point range. The 29 points were a season-high for the soon-to-be 41-year-old.
James’ co-star, Doncic, missed the last two games to return to Slovenia for the birth of his second child. He met the team in Philadelphia and looked like he didn’t skip a beat, recording his second triple-double of the season with a game-high 31 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists on 9-of-24 shooting.
Both Doncic and Austin Reaves (11 points on 3-of-16 shooting) didn’t shoot well, but they found other ways to impact the game.
Deandre Ayton also had a strong night for L.A. with another double-double, finishing with 14 points, 12 rebounds and two assists on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting in the win.
What’s next for the Lakers…
The Lakers will now return home and host the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night in the quarterfinals of the Emirates NBA Cup.
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