The Philadelphia 76ers were facing an uphill battle on Tuesday. They had to take on the best team in the West while being down three starters and it went exactly as one would expect. It ended in a 120-107 road loss to the Los Angeles Lakers as they fall to 9-23 on the road.
There was one stretch at the end of the first half that really defined this game. The Sixers were in the game and they even held a 41-30 lead at one point in the second quarter, but the Lakers went on a big run and they led 65-54 at halftime as they turned the Sixers over repeatedly and the team could not recover.
“Physically, they jumped us and I think our point guards struggled,” said coach Brett Brown. “I think we had six turnovers in that period of time, but I felt short of the second period, I thought the guys were good…in general, when you look at the problem area, it’s clearly that six-minute downwards at the end of the second period.”
Tobias Harris, who struggled a bit shooting 8-for-18 and scoring 18 points, was upset with the turnovers at the end of the half. Los Angeles used the dynamic duo of Anthony Davis and LeBron James to really hurt the Sixers on the night. The two of them combined for 59 points, 20 rebounds, and 16 assists.
“I thought we had a good start, the end of the second quarter hurt us,” he said. “They picked up their defensive intensity and from there, it rushed us. I thought the second half we didn’t get into our offensive execution. It’s tough from there.”
Philadelphia will now have to continue this road trip while being down as many guys as they are right now. They will have to make sure they sharpen their focus on a more consistent level. [lawrence-related id=27018,27011,27002]