In a battle between two of the NBA’s premier young teams, Brandon Ingram and
Lonzo Ball made the biggest play of the night.
Tied with seconds remaining, Ball drove to the rim and drew the entire defense
toward him before kicking out to Ingram, who splashed a last-second 3-pointer
for a 107-104 win over Philadelphia.
“Those are probably our two best decision-makers and we let them ride it out,”
head coach Luke Walton said. “They both made unselfish plays. Good recognition
of Zo.
“… He had an open 3 in the corner that he re-penetrated. I thought that was
great recognition for him. Then Brandon showed a lot of guts to be able to knock
down that 3 at the end.”
The kid called game.
A post shared by Los Angeles Lakers (@lakers) on Dec 7, 2017 at 7:53pm PST
It was a wild finish for the Lakers (9-15), who led by 15 early in the fourth
quarter.
But the 76ers (13-11) fought back behind the all-world talents of Joel Embiid,
who posted 33 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five blocks.
As Embiid scored 16 points in the fourth quarter alone and Ben Simmons (12
points, 13 rebounds, 15 assists) notched his triple-double, Philadelphia managed
to cut its deficit down to one with only four minutes left.
The sold-out Philly crowd went bonkers, and Walton noted that it “felt like a
playoff game” between two teams with four top-two picks: Ingram and Ball vs.
Embiid and Simmons.
But it was at that moment that an older lottery pick took over, as the Lakers
went to Julius Randle on four straight possessions.
The 23-year-old scored on each trip — including three out of pick-and-rolls
with Ball — providing 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter.
“Embiid had five fouls, so we were going to go with Ju and live and die with him
going to the basket strong,” Ball said.
MAN ON FIRE pic.twitter.com/4MvYYfH7UQ
While a foul-plagued Embiid couldn’t stop Randle at the rim, he was able to get
his own offense on the other end of the floor. He tied the game at the foul line
with 40 seconds left, and was given the ball again with the chance to take the
lead.
The best post-up player in the NBA, Embiid went to work backing down Randle, who
held his own on the game’s biggest defensive possession. Three weeks removed
from watching Embiid score 46 points mainly against him, Randle came up with the
clutch stop.
“I wasn’t gonna let him get me the same way,” Randle said. “He’s probably, from
a center position, the toughest (to) guard in the league.
“Last time, I was mad at myself for putting him on the line. His catches (in the
post) were too easy. He was getting in the paint. This time I was just trying to
make it a lot tougher and not get beat the same way twice.”
From there Ball pushed the fast-break, causing confusion among the defense. He
gave the ball to Ingram, who returned it to Ball since there was no defender on
him.
Rather than settle for the 3-point opportunity, Lonzo drove into the paint,
attracting all five defenders toward him. At the last second he kicked out to a
wide-open Ingram, who calmly sunk the biggest shot of his young career.
An absolutely clutch sequence by three young Lakers.* Julius stops the NBA’s
best post-up player* Lonzo pushes the break, causing defensive confusion* Zo
drives, drawing all 5 defenders toward him* Ingram : https://t.co/WnvrbLyUTd
pic.twitter.com/RzXMQ3wfxS
“That’s kind of what we’re grooming Brandon to do,” Larry Nance Jr. said. “He’s
going to be our closer eventually, and that was a great step tonight.”
Philadelphia’s Richaun Holmes was way off on his desperation rebuttal, and the
Lakers began their nine-day road trip by halting their five-game losing streak
and avenging their earlier loss to the Sixers.
It all started with Ingram, who started strong with 10 points in the first
quarter. He then went cold through much of the game, shooting just 7-of-21, but
made the biggest play of the night and finished with 21 points, seven rebounds
and six assists.
“He’s really taken some nice steps forward the last week or two as far as just
his overall presence and his overall leadership on the practice court, the game
court,” Walton said.
Brandon Ingram scores 21 points, and hits a game winner in Philadelphia
pic.twitter.com/Po6oWbTn0p
Ingram certainly had plenty of help, and Ball was there to provide some of
everything. B.I.’s fellow second-overall pick piled up 10 points, eight
rebounds, eight assists, four blocks and three steals while committing zero
turnovers.
Speaking of giveaways, the Lakers — who entered the game averaging the most in
the league — decisively won the possession battle.
They had only 11 turnovers to Philadelphia’s 18, and enjoyed a 15-7 advantage in
offensive rebounds.
The Lakers were also effective from distance, hitting 11 3-pointers, including
four from Jordan Clarkson. The second-unit point guard was key, scoring 16
points and hitting a variety of triples, including off the dribble and on an
elevator-doors play.
Clarkson takes the elevator to the 3rd floor. Nice play call to start the fourth
quarter. pic.twitter.com/Rl0xLYG73x
Notes Seven Lakers scored in double figures, including Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
(13 points), Larry Nance Jr. (11) and Brook Lopez (11). … Robert Covington had
19 points and four blocks for Philadelphia. … The Lakers shot just 12-of-24 on
free throws.
Kicking off the roadie with a #LakersWin
A post shared by Los Angeles Lakers (@lakers) on Dec 7, 2017 at 7:53pm PST
Player: Lonzo Ball
Player: Brandon Ingram
Player: Julius Randle
Player: Joel Embiid
Media Content: http://www.nba.com/lakers/news/171207-lakers-sixers-recap
Media Keywords: NBA, Sports, Los Angeles Lakers, Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram,
Julius Randle, Joel Embiid, Luke Walton, Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers
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Taxonomy: Postgame Wrap
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