RECAP: Los Angeles Lakers 107 , Philadelphia 76ers 104
In what was the second meeting of the season between the (13-11) Philadelphia 76ers and (9-15) the Los Angeles Lakers, the Sixers lost 107-104 to LA at the Wells Fargo Center.
Joel Embiid was the game’s leading scorer tallying 33 points off 11-of-17 shooting from the field. He also got to the line 10 times nailing nine of his free-throw attempts and registered seven rebounds, six assists, and a game-high five blocks. Philadelphia 76ers rookie Ben Simmons earned his third-career triple double with 12 points, 13 rebounds, and a career-high 15 assists.
The Lakers snapped a five-game losing streak and won the game off a Brandon Ingram three pointer with .08 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Ingram led the Lakers in scoring with 21 points but shot just 7-of-21 (33.3 percent) from the field. LA didn’t allow Philly to have a lead in the game past the opening period and led the Sixers by as many as 16 points in the third quarter.
For Philadelphia this is their second consecutive loss to a team with a losing record, as the Sixers previously lost to the (9-17) Phoenix Suns on Monday.
<span style=. F. Philadelphia 76ers. RICHAUN HOLMES. A
B+. <span style=. F. Philadelphia 76ers. ROBERT COVINGTON
42 mins | 12 pts | 13 reb | 15 ast | 0 stl | 1 blk | 4 TO | 6-14 FG | 0-0 3PT| 0-2 FT | 4 PF | 9 +/-<p>It’s hard not to give someone an A when they registered a triple double but that is the case for Simmons. Although his stats do look great he wasn’t as active defensively as the Sixers needed him to be consistently throughout this game. However, offensively Simmons was phenomenal minus the four turnovers and missed free throws.</p>. F. Philadelphia 76ers. BEN SIMMONS. B+
36 mins | 33 pts | 7 reb | 6 ast | 1 stl | 5 blk | 4 TO | 11-17 FG | 2-3 3PT| 9-10 FT | 5 PF | 14+/-Embiid pretty much took over in the fourth quarter and the Sixers realized no one on the Lakers could guard him. He also was good at protecting the rim but the Sixers needed him to grab a few more rebounds and stay out of foul trouble.. C. Philadelphia 76ers. JOEL EMBIID. A-
Things to consider moving forward
With Dario Saric out with eye laceration injury, Philly got an extra boost off the bench from Richaun Holmes that was great to see. His 13 points off the bench were much-needed as no other Philly reserve registered a single field goal. The question moving forward for Philly for me is who will be a consistent threat off the bench?
Hopefully when rookie Markelle Fultz returns he will be that consistent threat off the bench that the Sixers so desperately need, especially with Embiid having minutes restrictions and the NBA being a long 82-game season.
On the bright side, Robert Covington seemed to put his shooting slump past him during this game and made 4-of-7 (57.1 percent) of his three-point attempts. Convington also was aggressive on defense, tallying four blocks and making multiple efforts to stop his opponent.
Next up for Philly is a road game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday. The Sixers lost to the Cavaliers 113-91 in the Wells Fargo Center in their last meeting. Cleveland also has a lot of depth so Philly will definitely need other players to step up off the bench.
Next: Lack of creation outside of stars hurts the Sixers
Previous Recaps:
L, Phoenix Suns 115, Philadelphia 76ers 101
W, Philadelphia 76ers 108, Detroit Pistons 103
L, Boston Celtics 108, Philadelphia 76ers 97