Lakers turn up stingy defense to win 'ugly' game against Philadelphia

23 Mar 2024

Spectrum News 1

LOS ANGELES — It was a classic rest-or-rust game for the Lakers.

They hadn’t played a game since Monday thanks to a hiccup in the NBA schedule, and it definitely showed Friday against the Philadelphia 76ers. Score one for rust.

What You Need To Know The Lakers persevered and relied on their defense in a 101-94 victory over the 76ers at Crypto.com Arena on Friday night “Ugly,” LeBron James said of the win. “But we got the job done.” Anthony Davis, who scored 23 points, was one rebound short of a 20-20 game D’Angelo Russell carved out a piece of history by drilling a three-pointer off a pass from James halfway through the first quarter, setting the all-time team record for threes in a season The Lakers held Philadelphia to woeful 34.4% shooting. With the win they held on to ninth place in the Western Conference with 12 games left

But the Lakers persevered and relied on their defense in a 101-94 victory over the 76ers at Crypto.com Arena. Score one for a rested defense?

The Lakers have owned one of the NBA’s worst defenses since the All-Star break but managed to hold a team under 100 for the first time since limiting New Orleans to 89 points on Dec. 7.

It wasn’t pretty, it won’t be on any end-of-the-year highlight recaps, but the Lakers (38-32) will take the victory as they held on to ninth place in the Western Conference.

“Ugly,” LeBron James said of the win. “But we got the job done.”

Anthony Davis was one rebound short of a 20-20 game and D’Angelo Russell set the record for most three-pointers in a season by a Lakers player. More good news came from San Francisco, where 10th-place Golden State lost to Indiana and fell 1.5 games behind the Lakers in the standings.

Any separation in the standings is good separation, though the Lakers caused their own problems by separating themselves from the ball too often Friday.

Twenty-one turnovers were a killer, including eight from James, an unusually high number for a player who dominates the ball like he does. Russell finished with five, also a bit high for him.

“We came out sloppy,” Davis told Spectrum SportsNet, noting the plethora of turnovers. “That’s terrible for us. That’s how this [76ers] team stayed in the game.”

But the Lakers held Philadelphia to woeful 34.4% shooting.

“We just wanted to make sure our defense remains consistent,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “Second half, we did a great job despite some of our offensive mistakes.”

The Lakers were particularly effective in the second half, holding the 76ers to 24 points in the third quarter and 18 in the fourth. Philadelphia (38-32) simply couldn’t make any shots. Guard Tyrese Maxey is having a breakthrough season and will probably win the NBA’s Most Improved Player award, but he made only 10 of 26 shots for 27 points.

The Lakers got most of their offense from Davis, who scored 23 points on 10-for-16 shooting. He also took 19 rebounds.

Russell carved out a piece of history by drilling a three-pointer off a pass from James halfway through the first quarter, setting the all-time team record for threes in a season. Russell made four threes to total 187, four more than Nick Van Exel in 1994-95.

“This franchise is one of the most prestigious so to have my name, just to be a part of it, more than grateful,” said Russell, who finished with 14 points. “Just want to keep continuing to shatter it if I can. Make it really, really hard for the next person.”

Were the Lakers rusty? Yes. But did they get just enough rest this week to outlast Philadelphia? The Lakers don’t really care. They beat the 76ers, a critical fact with only 12 games left in the regular season.