Philly’s Heartbreak: Close Game Slips Away in Tough 4th Quarter

The Philadelphia 76ers (38-32) faced the Los Angeles Lakers (38-32) in Tinseltown. The Sixers found themselves in a close game but lost 101-94.

Let’s break down the Sixers’ loss.

76ers player notes:

Tyrese Maxey: 27 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 10-26 FG shooting

Maxey’s shooting was once again poor to start this game off but he eventually settled into a more normal shooting split as the game went on, though he was still in a three-point shooting slump. He was strong in the fourth quarter, coming alive to score at the hoop with creativity, but it was too little, too late.

Tobias Harris: 16 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 6-18 FG shooting

After a three-game absence due to an ankle sprain, Harris did his best to get immediately readjusted to the game. He got a lot of shots up but was inefficient, settling for tough shots and displaying poor effort on both ends. Midway through the second quarter, he started to pick it up, rebound the ball well and make some nice plays here and there throughout the rest of the game. This was still mostly a rough Harris game but was sprinkled with some very nice moments.

Kelly Oubre Jr.: 19 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 6-18 FG shooting

Oubre has been in a sensational, well-rounded groove as of late. His jump shooting and decision-making can still be hectic but his athletic energy has been huge for the 76ers for a while. The way he goes to the rim with no fear once again kept Philly going amid a poor shooting night. When he’s able to make good passes, as he did tonight, he can be a major asset to a team that has to steal wins.

Lakers player notes:

LeBron James: 20 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 7-15 FG shooting

James could have gotten to the rim just about whenever he wanted but started off the game shooting inefficiently and turning the ball over, coughing it up four times in the first half. He was a bit better in the second half but was more susceptible to mistakes than normal.

Anthony Davis: 23 points, 19 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks, 10-16 FG shooting

Davis was a monster on the boards and in the paint. His ability to score at the hoop and stifle the Sixers in the paint was key for the Lakers. They were extremely prone to turnovers but AD’s offensive rebounding made the possession battle more manageable.

Game recap:

The 76ers got off to a rough start on their last West Coast trip of the season, dropping a clunker in the desert. Trying to stay above a play-in spot in the Eastern Conference, the Sixers could hardly afford to drop this game against the Lakers, one of the worst teams they’ll play in their stretch of facing playoff contenders. Facing the dynamic duo of LBJ and AD isn’t always easy but Philly still has an urgent need for Ws.

Harris returned for the Sixers, replacing Nico Batum in the starting lineup. Taurean Prince was one of several role players out for Los Angeles.

1st half

Harris started out on James while Austin Reaves started on the Maxey assignment. The Sixers used several screeners to get him free, using Lowry for a guard-guard pick-and-roll and later with Harris as ghost screener, which opened the lane for Maxey to score on an and-one. Oubre’s off-ball defensive activity remained strong, knocking away passes and making the right rotations. He also fed Paul Reed for a dunk off of a drive.

LA initially used its superior size to score at the rim while Philly opted for more jumpers. Harris looked to get back into a rhythm and took to his typical, methodical scoring tricks in the post and mid-range, who got two of his first five shots to drop. Neither offense was able to build on their decent starts after both LeBron and Kyle Lowry subbed out, removing a substantial amount of playmaking and veteran savvy from the floor.

Paul Reed squared off with Davis, who he famously called a flopper out of nowhere earlier in the season, hitting a one-legged fadeaway over him as the shot clock expired. Davis got him back by swatting one of his layup attempts. Harris continued to misfire, leading all players with eight shots in the opening period while hitting just two. Philly trailed by one, 24-23.

The 76ers started the second quarter with KJ Martin at the five, a poor choice with the L-Train (a legitimate nickname for LeBron, per Basketball Reference) in the game along with a great vertical spacer in Jaxson Hayes. James easily got into the paint and connected with Hayes for a lob and then cut right behind Harris for a dunk down the lane. It may have been Harris’ first game back after a multi-game absence but he was BRUTAL to start the night. He was subbed out after that play but returned quickly and started to play better.

Philly scrapped its small-ball look as the Lakers started to get going, sending former Laker Mo Bamba back into the game. Cam Payne was subbed in at the start of the quarter but somehow didn’t get a ton of on-ball reps despite being the lineup’s best ball-handler and shot-creator. Harris made some great plays against Reaves, including a successful fight for a rebound and a strip of the ball, and then scored five quick points to tie the game back up.

Oubre airmailed a wide-open three but then managed to draw a foul on James. In a game where the flow of offense often felt like a crawl, Philly managed to stay ahead amid some awful shooting from James, though the King still did throw down a big dunk before the half. Oubre threw down a double-clutch, two-handed slam to put a punctuation mark on a peculiar half of basketball.

At the half, the 76ers led 52-50.

2nd half

The 76ers’ off-ball defensive activity remained solid, including when Oubre stole the ball away from Davis and turned it into a layup on the other end. Harris blocked Davis from behind after he caught a long outlet pass and got a seal on Maxey. Although he wasn’t able to stop James from getting a step on him and ruined his great block with a turnover, he had started inching closer to becoming a positive for Philly.

Oubre’s nose for the hoop was a strong but unstable source of offense for the Sixers, who could barely get a rhythm going in the halfcourt, even with Maxey. The star guard’s playmaking still came in handy and he made a few shots but it was K9’s all-bite, no-bark style of scoring the ball that allowed the Sixers to stay with it. But the Lakers still managed to go back ahead.

The 76ers remained in a dogfight with the Lakers but were fighting hard to stay in it. Oubre punched one of Davis’ shots from behind, leading to a Maxey layup on the other end. Batum swooped in after an uncontested Cam Reddish rebound and, in one motion, swiped the ball and assisted Buddy Hield for a layup. Oubre dropped a slick drop-off pass to Bamba for a dunk. The stage was set for a shot and the Sixers obliged, though the protagonists of the Hollywood production were still looking to make it their night. Philly 76, LA 75 heading into crunch time.

James again beat Harris on a cut for a layup and denied him of a layup, though he was a bit slow to get up. Maxey was subbed out for just a few minutes with the Sixers needing everything they could get to pull off the win. He started to warm up with some tough finishes, scoring seven straight points for Philly. But the Lakers took advantage of some misses from the Sixers to go up by five, their largest lead of the second half.

The 76ers had started to get careless with the ball, spoiling their chances of coming back with turnovers. The Lakers went up by nine with under two minutes left. Davis’ monster defense at the rim helped them stay ahead as Philly’s offense dried up. A great chance to pick off a win went down the drain.

Assorted observations:

• Oubre was dancing with the Laker Girls pregame, because of course he was.
• The Sixers forcing a lot of turnovers — which they did in their last game, too — could be how they survive on that end of the floor without Embiid. They’ll have to figure out how to operate with such an irreplaceable player missing time. It appears like that might have something.

The 76ers will stay in L.A. and face old friend James Harden and the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday afternoon.