The Los Angeles Lakers reeled off three consecutive road victories, but they faced one of their toughest tests of the 2023-24 season when they took on the Philadelphia 76ers in a marquee showdown.
However, the Lakers looked out of their depth as they were blown out 138-94 to fall to 10-8 on the season.
Anthony Davis and Joel Embiid went at each other from the start, getting themselves going early offensively. Davis was able to draw two quick fouls on Embiid, but the Sixers held a 16-13 lead after a Tyrese Maxey 3-pointer.
Things started to get away from Los Angeles as they failed to generate good looks, allowing Philadelphia to build a double-digit lead. Jalen Hood-Schifino made his NBA debut off the bench, but the Lakers went into the second trailing 32-19.
The 76ers’ 3-point shooting picked up to begin the second and it pushed the deficit all the way up to 18 points, prompting a timeout from Darvin Ham. Philadelphia made Los Angeles pay for any missed shots and turnovers and they extended their lead to 52-29 after hitting another shot from distance.
The purple and gold didn’t offer up much resistance defensively as the Sixers generated great looks nearly every time down the floor. L.A. finally started to see some shots go down toward the end of the quarter as they went on a 14-4 run, but they went into halftime trailing 68-53.
LeBron James was aggressive getting to the basket early in the third quarter while a pair of threes from Taurean Prince cut the deficit to 11. However, just like the first half, the 76ers responded with a run of their own to push their lead to 84-65. They stayed hot from 3-point range all night long while the Lakers could never really get it going.
Los Angeles was able to somewhat hang around, though the team had to contend with Joel Embiid getting to the free throw line and mucking up the rhythm of the game. The Lakers continued to send the 76ers to the line and as a result they went into the fourth down 98-80.
Ham opted to keep the regulars in to start the final period, but Philadelphia opened the quarter with three consecutive shots from downtown to widen the gap. Los Angeles seemed to wave the white flag as the starters were pulled and Ham emptied the bench.
With both teams playing their reserves, the Lakers would endure a loss and saw their modest three-game road winning streak snapped.
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