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We’ve reached the quarterfinal of the NBA season and it’s no surprise to see the Los Angeles Lakers sit atop the Western Conference. What few expected, however, was to see the Philadelphia 76ers in first place in the East. Led by new trainer Doc Rivers, Philly has clicked through all cylinders so far and climbed to the top of the rankings. While there is still a lot of basketball to play before we have any idea what the playoff image will look like, it was the 76ers who got the best from the Lakers in what some saw as a potential glimpse of the Lakers. the final on Wednesday night.
The 76ers have been the class in the East at this point behind Joel Embiid’s season MVP caliber and he once again posted impressive numbers against Los Angeles finishing the 107-106 win with 28 points and six rebounds. He had a lot of help, however, as it was Tobias Harris who hit the winning jumper seconds from time to give him 24 points on the night. Ben Simmons also had a triple-double. Philadelphia has now won four of its last five games and continues its blank streak at Wells Fargo Center (10-0).
Sadly, that means the Lakers’ impressive run with a perfect 10-0 on the road is over. Led by their own MVP, LeBron James put on another great night finishing with 34 points, six rebounds and six assists, but in the end that wasn’t enough to slow down a Sixers team that quickly took the lead. and closed the door. the Lakers in the fourth quarter after Los Angeles tried to rally late.
Here are three takeaways from the game:
1. Harris saves the Sixers and continues his streak
Exactly six minutes to go, Danny Green scored inside a feed from Ben Simmons to give the Sixers a 14-point lead, and it looked like they were on course for an impressive win over the reigning champions. Only, they completely stalled after this point.
In fact, after a bucket from Anthony Davis, they were down one with 11 seconds left. That’s when Tobias Harris stepped in. The Sixers ran a little pick-and-roll with Harris and Seth Curry, and after the Lakers change, Harris had the disagreement with Alex Caruso.
He drove on the left, created some space, and gutted the jumper to save the Sixers. Harris finished with 24 rebounds and seven rebounds on the night to continue a scorching January. He’s racking up 20.8 points and shooting 53.9% from the field this month, which is one of his best moments in the Sixers’ uniform.
2. Difficult fall for Embiid
Joel Embiid escaped the Sixers’ loss to the Detroit Pistons on Monday due to strain in his back, which has been a nagging issue for him, both this season and at various points earlier in his career. . He didn’t seem too embarrassed at the start of the game, however, scoring 13 points in the first quarter.
But in the middle of the third quarter, he was the target of a flagrant foul from LeBron James. The Lakers star put two hands on Embiid while he was in the air, causing the big man to lose his balance. Unable to prepare, Embiid crashed violently onto the deck, landing on his back.
He eventually came back but sported a giant wrap on his back when he came off the bench and only scored six points the rest of the night. Hopefully, it will just be painful bruises rather than something major, but it’s definitely something to watch out for moving forward, especially given Embiid’s injury history.
3. The missing Lakers support cast
One of the main reasons the Lakers have been successful this season is that they have such a deep team and they don’t have to rely on LeBron James and Anthony Davis to dominate every night. Heading into Wednesday night’s game, their bench finished fifth in the NBA with 38.8 points per game, and they often go 11th in their rotation.
This game, however, was the LeBron and AD show. Those two combined for more than half the Lakers’ points, scoring 57 of 21 of 40 on the field. Most nights it’s the recipe for success, but the help wasn’t there this time around – at least not for most of the game.
While the Lakers’ supporting cast began to escalate in the fourth quarter, it ultimately turned out to be too little, too late. Dennis Schroder and Alex Caruso were the only other Lakers in double digits, and the entire bench combined for just 22 points.
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