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Matt Slocum / Associated Press
All it took was the team with the best record in the Eastern Conference and a dramatic finish to ultimately slow the Los Angeles Lakers down the road.
The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Lakers 107-106 in the potential NBA Finals preview Wednesday at the Wells Fargo Center thanks to a winning jumper from Tobias Harris with three seconds remaining. Harris, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons have led the way for the winners, who have improved to 13-6 this season and 4-1 in their last five games.
An impressive performance from LeBron James was not enough to prevent the Lakers’ first 14-5 loss in 11 away downs.
LA roared back to take the lead in the dying seconds despite a 12-point deficit at 3:07 left, but Anthony Davis’ buzzer lift fell well short of the Harris winner.
Notable player statistics
- Joel Embiid, C, PHI: 28 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST, 2 BLK
- Ben Simmons, PG, PHI: 17 PTS, 11 REB, 10 AST
- Tobias Harris, F, PHI: 24 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST
- LeBron James, F, LAL: 34 PTS, 6 REB, 6 AST
- Anthony Davis, F, LAL: 23 PTS, 8 REB, 2 BLK
76ers survive late charge for pickup win
It’s right that fans still harbor doubts about the 76ers.
After all, they have yet to make it out of the second round of the playoffs with their current core and were swept away by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs last year. Taking an imposing lead in the dying minutes in Wednesday’s game against the defending champions would have done nothing to dispel the idea that this hot start was a mirage.
And then Harris came to the rescue.
Before that, Embiid set the tone with 13 points in the opening quarterback as he overwhelmed the Lakers frontcourt and even blocked James in a game that turned heads. He also stayed in the game throughout the streak after a frightening foul on a blatant LeBron foul, prompting 76ers fans to breathe a sigh of relief.
Embiid’s departure forced the Lakers to send more help in his own way, and Simmons took advantage of the resulting leadership lanes. He’s always finished on the rim or put others in the way of a triple-double.
Harris also found his touch and responded to several visitor races with baskets at the right time.
So it was fitting for Harris to hit the biggest shot of the game after Philadelphia nearly blew up one of their best collective efforts of the season with a nonchalant finish. Instead of a loss that would have raised doubts, the 76ers are claiming one of the most impressive wins of the season and will look to continue building up ahead of the playoffs.
LeBron’s help arrives too late
It must be nice to have two of the top five players in the league.
James and Davis traded dominance in the first three stops of a seven-game road trip. The former dropped 34 points in an MVP showdown with Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee and 46 points against his former team in Cleveland, while the latter racked up 37 points in his hometown of Chicago.
It seemed to set the stage for AD’s turn, but LeBron clearly had other ideas.
The King kept the Lakers on hand despite a scorching start for Embiid and was nearly unstoppable while crossing the lane and finishing at the edge. He racked up 22 points in the first half alone, and Philadelphia had no cons for his athleticism and size while attacking.
Still, Davis was the only other Laker to double the numbers heading into the fourth quarter, and he’s struggled to come down with four points in this final period. He also failed to stop Embiid on key defensive possession, although Dennis Schroder and Alex Caruso almost made up for that with a scorching streak at the end.
The pair combined for an 8-0 run down the home stretch before a Kentavious Caldwell-Pope three and a Davis basket on a nice assist from James gave the Lakers 11 seconds to go.
Harris ‘shot wiped out the comeback, and James was likely left pondering where his teammates’ help was in the opening 45 minutes.
And after?
The Lakers are at the Detroit Pistons on Thursday, while the 76ers are at the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.
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