Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers was not too surprised that the Los Angeles Lakers almost snatched the victory on Wednesday. For him, the Sixers need to adapt a killer mindset to take down the defending champions.

Per Tim Bontemps of ESPN, Rivers praised the Lakers for their late-game surge.

Doc Rivers and the Sixers held a 12-point lead with around four minutes left in the fourth quarter. But thanks to a couple of offensive and defensive plays from Lakers guard Alex Caruso, the lead was trimmed to just four points under the two-minute mark. It didn't help that Philly, who led the game by as much as 16 points, were suddenly missing shots when they needed it most.

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A 3-pointer from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope cut the lead to just one. After a timeout, a LeBron James pass which led to an Anthony Davis layup gave the Lakers the lead.

With all the pressure on the Sixers, they turned to Tobias Harris on the final play. After the switch to Caruso, Harris carved his way inside the perimeter for a 15-foot pull-up. With no timeouts left, the Lakers had no choice but to throw up a wild 3-pointer which missed.

The Sixers effectively stained the Lakers' road record to 10-1, while also snapping the Purple and Gold's three-game winning streak. They've also won six of their last 10 games and remain on top of the Eastern Conference with a 13-6 record.

The 76ers will face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday as part of their three-game road trip.