Lonzo Ball effectively pushed the pace, Brandon Ingram put together another aggressive performance, and the Los Angeles Lakers snapped their season-worst five-game losing streak by hanging on for a 107-104 win over the Philadelphia 76ers in what turned into a thriller.
Ingram sparked the Lakers to a quick start and did the bulk of his damage early, scoring 13 of his 21 points in the first half. He scored six points in the fourth quarter, with his 3-pointer giving the Lakers a decided lead with less than one second remaining.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Joel Embiid cut the 76ers’ deficit to nine points within the first two minutes of the fourth quarter. A 13-3 run trimmed the Lakers’ lead to five points with under eight minutes remaining, and the Sixers ultimately tied the game on multiple occasions.
The Lakers seemingly had an answer each time, primarily in the form of Julius Randle. He turned a slam dunk into a three-point play and finished at the basket off various pick-and-roll sequences.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s 13 points were second-most amongst Lakers starters. He was a complementary piece to Ball, who stuffed the box score to the tune of a 10 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, three steals and four blocked shots.
Jordan Clarkson, who was instrumental to holding off multiple rallies by the Sixers, chipped in with 16 points off the bench. Randle also scored 16 points, all the while playing strong defense against Embiid down the stretch.
Ben Simmons notched his third career triple-double, scoring 12 points, pulling down 13 rebounds and dishing out 15 assists. Embiid shook off a modest first quarter to finish with a game-high 33 points and five blocked shots, to boot.
However, his string of double-doubles was snapped at seven consecutive games. While impressive, the performance didn’t quite match the career-high 45 points Embiid scored 15 rebounds he grabbed against the Lakers last month.
Richaun Holmes’ 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting were the only points the Sixers received from four bench players who entered the game.
The matchup was one between the two most turnover-prone teams — Sixers at 17.4 turnovers per game and Lakers dead last with 17.5 — and it was Philadelphia who struggled most in the department as they turned the ball over 18 times, compared to 12 for Los Angeles.
The Lakers’ free throw problems persisted, as they made just 12 of 24 attempts.
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