‘Tis officially Christmas season, and the Los Angeles Lakers (10-8) recognized the occasion by being utterly roasted like a chestnut on an open fire, 138-94, by the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday at the Wells Fargo Center. The 44-point margin of defeat is tied for the fourth largest in Lakers history and marks the largest of LeBron James' career.
LeBron's most lopsided loss came on the same night he passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA's all-time leader in minutes played, including playoffs (66,319). Taurean Prince (3-of-6 from 3) is officially out of his shooting slump — though he's been far better on the road all season. Meanwhile, 2023 first-round pick Jalen Hood-Schifino, coming off a knee injury, made his NBA debut (scoreless in 11 minutes), so that was nice to see. That's where the positives end for the Lakers.
Beyond the opening stretch, the Lakers were run off the court. Their 13-8 lead was promptly erased by a 20-2 Sixers' onslaught. The Lakers needed a 14-4 run to cut the deficit to 15 at halftime. Philly, led by Joel Embiid (30 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) and Tyrese Maxey (31 points, eight assists), never cooled off. They finished with 15 more 3-pointers and 13 more free throws, which deflated the Lakers disturbingly easily. The connectivity the Lakers displayed against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday was nonexistent.
“Feel like we just weren't together,” said Anthony Davis. “A lot of quick shots, one-pass shots, no-pass shots. They started making a lot of shots. And when their lead kind of opened up a little bit — 15, 20, 25 — I think we all tried to be the hero to make the team come back instead of just sticking with it.”
“They made a lot of 3s. We didn't,” noted Austin Reaves. “They beat the sh*t out of us. I don't know.”
Darvin Ham pulled the starters with 8:18 to go and the Lakers down 27. The Lakers were outrebounded by 16, had 10 fewer assists, and committed 10 more turnovers than their opponent.
“They have championship aspirations. So do we,” said Ham. “But, in the short term, your competitive spirit has to be at a high level. It almost has to be bulletproof to a certain degree. … you have to buckle down and meet force with force. At different segments, they outhustled us. .. I think we kind of dropped our heads a little bit.”
The Lakers lacked any fire despite being gifted prime bulletin-board material by Sixers backup center Paul Reed, who labeled Anthony Davis a “big flopper” earlier in the day (Ham responded by wishing Reed the “best of luck” guarding Davis). AD's impact — he had eight points and drew two quick fouls on Embiid in the opening five minutes — dwindled as the game wore on. Davis (17 points, 7-for-14 FG, 11 rebounds) scored three points in the second half.
The Lakers are 3-6 on the road and 1-1 on the current trip. They'll visit the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday before heading home.
“Just one of them games where you just kind of flush it,” said AD. “We gotta look at it, embrace it, own it … and then move on from it.”
LeBron, curt and sullen at his locker, seemed reluctantly unready to forget about this game's existence.
“A lot,” he replied when asked — three times — about what needs to change for the Lakers to avoid similar performances. “I don't like it.”
As for the fact that he's played more professional basketball on American soil than anybody in human history?
“That don't mean much to me.”
Career-worst losses will do that.
Follow Us
Subscribe
