Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James had an up-close look at the new-and-improved Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday after losing in heartbreak fashion, 107-106, at the Wells Fargo Center. After the tightly contested match, The King admitted he was impressed by the revamped Sixers team and affirmed their status as favorites in the East this year.
“I think it's a really good team they put together. … There's a lot of teams in the Eastern Conference that are going to play championship basketball down the stretch. I know they think they are going to be one of them,” LeBron said, via Ryan Ward of Lakers Daily.
After trailing for most of the game, LeBron James and the Lakers stormed back in the fourth and even outscored the home team, 32-26. They had a one-point lead in the dying seconds of regulation up until Tobias Harris spoiled their comeback with a game-winning jumper over Alex Caruso.
LeBron led the spirited Lakers comeback in the fourth, finishing with 34 points, six rebounds and six assists, while knocking down 12 of his 22 shots from the field in 39 minutes.
The four-time NBA champion was almost thrown out of the ball game in the third following a flagrant foul 1 call against Sixers superstar Joel Embiid. Apart from Harris' heroics, it was Embiid's steady play on both ends that allowed Philly to weather the reigning champions' late surge. The Cameroonian center tallied a team-high 28 points, while his fellow All-Star Ben Simmons had a triple-double effort of 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 dimes.
The Sixers' moves in the offseason, meanwhile, are paying off big time as they improve their record to 13-6, good for the top seed in the East. The Lakers, on the other hand, now dropped to second in the West with a 14-5 slate.
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