After splitting the first two games of their road trip, the Los Angeles Lakers looked to end it on a high note when they took on the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday evening.
Marcus Smart remained out for L.A., although LeBron James and Luka Doncic were back in the lineup after missing the last two games for the birth of his second daughter. That made the difference as they led the Lakers to a 112-108 victory to improve to 17-6 on the year.
Doncic didn’t appear rusty early as he kicked off the scoring with a midrange jumper and then a three-point play. The Lakers were playing great defense early though with Joel Embiid and Paul George scoring and then Tyrese Maxey hitting a 3 to give the 76ers a 17-9 lead.
Doncic was the first player in double figures, hitting one from deep to help settle the Lakers in. James then got going in transition with a pair of dunks and Rui Hachimura hit a corner triple with L.A. finishing the quarter strong to tie it at 30.
The Lakers took their first lead early in the second when Adou Thiero came up with the steal and James buried a triple.
Jared McCain provided a spark for the 76ers off the bench with a pair of 3-pointers. Meanwhile, Austin Reaves couldn’t buy a bucket as he missed his first eight shots. He made a tough layup though and then hit a 3 right after.
It was a poor close to the half for the Lakers as Joel Embiid started to get going, sending the 76ers into the locker room with a 60-53 lead.
James was aggressive to start the third quarter with five quick points. He then found Hachimura on an alley-oop to cut the deficit to just one. Everything was going the Lakers’ way from there as they made 11 of their first 12 shots in the second half with Reaves, Doncic and Hachimura all getting involved to take the lead.
While the Lakers momentarily went up by 10, Philadelphia had a strong close to the quarter to cut their deficit to 87-84.
With Doncic on the bench and Reaves struggling, James tried to take control of the Lakers’ offense, although their lead was cut to two and they needed a timeout.
Doncic eventually returned and helped settle his team with an alley-oop to Deandre Ayton and then a bucket of his own.
With the game tied late, James took over and made four shots in a row to close out the victory.
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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