The 76ers (8-21) continued their west coast tour, stopping in LA to play the Lakers (13-17) Sunday night. While most of our readers were watching the Eagles clinch the NFC East and a spot in the playoffs, the Sixers would finally end their road-losing streak at 13. In a matchup between to of the worst defenses in the NBA, the 76ers would win 111-104.
Evan Turner would return to the lineup for Philadelphia after sitting out in Phoenix with a sore knee. The Lakers would would be without their best two players in Kobe and Pau Gasol. While the Sixers are last in the league defensively (111.8 ppg allowed), LA is not much better as they came in 28th (103.4 ppg allowed).
The Sixers got off to an awful start, allowing Los Angeles to open with a 12-2 run before Brett Brown called a timeout. The Sixers connected on only 1 of their first 11 shots. The timeout sparked the Sixers and they went on a 18-4 run of their own. Philadelphia would tie the game up at 16 off a beautiful reverse dunk by Turner and take their first lead with a put-back from Thad Young. The Lakers would retake the lead on a 3 from former Sixer Jodie Meeks and take a 22-20 lead in the second quarter. The Sixers scored 10 unanswered and created a 9 point lead before the 8:00 mark. Philly controlled the game for the remainder of the half until Nick Young hit a three to tie it up at 52 going into the break. Both teams struggled to hit their shots in the first half; Philly shot 37% and the Lakers shot 35%. Thad Young led all scorers with 13.
The 3rd quarter was kept close until midway through the period when the Sixers put together another run. A three-pointer from Hawes would put Philly up double-digits. The 76ers closed out the quarter ahead 86-77. This game of runs only continued into the 4th as the Lakers' offense exploded and they were able to pull ahead 95-94. Hawes put the Sixers back up by 1 with 4:24 remaining. Thad Young would complete an and-1 to put Philly up 107-101 but Farmar would answer back with a three-pointer to keep it a 3 point game with under a minute left. Both teams failed to score on their next possession and the Lakers were forced to foul. MCW hit both shots from the line to put the game away. The Sixers would finally win on the road, 111-104. The last time Philly won away from home was in Washington in their second game of the season.
Thad Young continued his great play of late, finishing with 25 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 steals. Turner added another all-around game with 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 22 points. Hawes contributed 19 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocks. MCW ended with 13 points to go with 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals. James Anderson had 11 points and 8 rebounds off the bench. The Sixers were beneficiaries of 22 LA turnovers while only committing 11 of their own. Philly out-scored the Lakers 52-28 in the paint but were out-rebounded 55-49.
Jordan Hill ended with 18 points and 13 rebounds while Nick Young led LA with 26 points off the bench. Shawne Williams scored 11 and collected 10 rebounds but could not hit a game-tying 3-pointer in the final minute. Jodie Meeks hit 4 threes and finished with 15 points.
The Sixers (9-21) will travel to Denver to play the Nuggets (14-15) on Wednesday. The Sixers fell to the Nuggets 92-103 early in the season.
By: Matt Ryan
The Sixers got off to an awful start, allowing Los Angeles to open with a 12-2 run before Brett Brown called a timeout. The Sixers connected on only 1 of their first 11 shots. The timeout sparked the Sixers and they went on a 18-4 run of their own. Philadelphia would tie the game up at 16 off a beautiful reverse dunk by Turner and take their first lead with a put-back from Thad Young. The Lakers would retake the lead on a 3 from former Sixer Jodie Meeks and take a 22-20 lead in the second quarter. The Sixers scored 10 unanswered and created a 9 point lead before the 8:00 mark. Philly controlled the game for the remainder of the half until Nick Young hit a three to tie it up at 52 going into the break. Both teams struggled to hit their shots in the first half; Philly shot 37% and the Lakers shot 35%. Thad Young led all scorers with 13.
The 3rd quarter was kept close until midway through the period when the Sixers put together another run. A three-pointer from Hawes would put Philly up double-digits. The 76ers closed out the quarter ahead 86-77. This game of runs only continued into the 4th as the Lakers' offense exploded and they were able to pull ahead 95-94. Hawes put the Sixers back up by 1 with 4:24 remaining. Thad Young would complete an and-1 to put Philly up 107-101 but Farmar would answer back with a three-pointer to keep it a 3 point game with under a minute left. Both teams failed to score on their next possession and the Lakers were forced to foul. MCW hit both shots from the line to put the game away. The Sixers would finally win on the road, 111-104. The last time Philly won away from home was in Washington in their second game of the season.
Thad Young continued his great play of late, finishing with 25 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 steals. Turner added another all-around game with 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 22 points. Hawes contributed 19 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocks. MCW ended with 13 points to go with 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals. James Anderson had 11 points and 8 rebounds off the bench. The Sixers were beneficiaries of 22 LA turnovers while only committing 11 of their own. Philly out-scored the Lakers 52-28 in the paint but were out-rebounded 55-49.
Jordan Hill ended with 18 points and 13 rebounds while Nick Young led LA with 26 points off the bench. Shawne Williams scored 11 and collected 10 rebounds but could not hit a game-tying 3-pointer in the final minute. Jodie Meeks hit 4 threes and finished with 15 points.
The Sixers (9-21) will travel to Denver to play the Nuggets (14-15) on Wednesday. The Sixers fell to the Nuggets 92-103 early in the season.
By: Matt Ryan