After a disappointing 1-4 road trip, the Los Angeles Lakers returned home, where they are undefeated this season, to host the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night.
This was a prime opportunity for the Lakers to get back in the win column as the 76ers were without stars Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey while Anthony Davis and Rui Hachimura both returned from their one-game absences. Ultimately, the Lakers were able to take care of business, coming away with a 116-106 win to get back above .500 at 5-4.
JJ Redick made a significant starting lineup change in this one, sending D’Angelo Russell to the bench in order to get some more defense in there with Cam Reddish.
That changed helped the Lakers get out to a quick start with Davis, Hachimura and Austin Reaves all making 3-pointers. Even Reddish got in on the action and the 76ers had to taker a timeout with the Lakers leading 21-10.
Davis had a dominant first quarter with 15 points while Russell came in and made an impact with seven quick points of his own, sending the Lakers into the second quarter with a 36-29 lead.
The 76ers were quickly able to cut into their deficit in the second by creating turnovers and getting hot from deep, forcing Redick to call a timeout with his team’s defense struggling.
While the 76ers took their first lead towards the end of the half, the Lakers ended the second quarter on an 11-1 run to take a 68-60 lead into the locker room. James, Davis and Reaves led the way during that stretch.
The Lakers built off that momentum to begin the third quarter as Reaves stayed hot from deep while James went into attack mode. The 76ers also continued to have no answer for Davis as he scored inside and got to the free throw line frequently
Russell and James had a nice stretch to end the quarter, finding each other for some nice buckets. The Sixers beat the third quarter buzzer with a triple though, cutting their deficit to 96-81.
The undermanned 76ers didn’t have enough firepower to make any sort of run in the fourth quarter. Whenever they made a dent into their deficit, guys like James and Russell responded immediately as the Lakers cruised to the easy win.
What’s next for the Lakers
The Lakers will return to the court on Sunday evening when they host the Toronto Raptors in a rematch of last week’s matchup in Canada. The Lakers won that game but saw the Raptors storm back from down 26 to make it close in the second half, so they should know this isn’t an opponent they can take lightly.
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