Having dropped eight games in a row, it was clear from the start that the Lakers were simply sick of losing.
Los Angeles opened Friday night’s contest by taking a 13-0 lead and kept Philadelphia at a distance the rest of the way in its 100-89 win.
D’Angelo Russell helped set the pace with seven points in that opening run, as the purple and gold rolled out to a 30-18 lead by the end of the first quarter.
After not extending their lead too much in the second quarter, the Lakers (11-18) poured it on in the third.
Julius Randle and Nick Young hit back-to-back shots midway through to extend L.A.’s lead to 22 points.
However, after receiving boos from their home fans, the 76ers (6-12) finally started clicking, ending the quarter on a 16-4 run and bringing the Lakers’ lead down to 75-64.
Philadelphia kept pushing at the beginning of the fourth, trimming its deficit to just seven with nine minutes left. However, the Lakers hunkered down from there.
The Sixers never came any closer, as the Lakers’ defense clamped down with Larry Nance Jr. leading the way by grabbing six of his game-high 11 rebounds in the final period.
“I told Larry that was one of the best four-point performances I’ve seen in a long time, and I’m dead serious,” head coach Luke Walton said. “He was probably our most impactful player out there tonight. He got rebounds when we really needed them. He made plays when we really needed to score.”
A photo posted by Lakers Scene (@lakersscene) on Dec 16, 2016 at 6:50pm PST
While Nance was the unsung hero, Randle absorbed everyone’s attention by racking up a season-high 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting while tallying nine rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Randle consistently bullied his way through defenders, which reminded Young of a certain big, green superhero.
“He turned into ‘Hulk smash’ the whole night,” Young said. “He just went to work.”
Former Sixer Lou Williams provided 18 points and four steals in his “second home,” while Russell added 15 points and seven rebounds. But the game was won on the other end, where the Lakers yielded their fewest points of the year.
Rookie of the Year frontrunner Joel Embiid scored 15 points but needed 14 shots to do so, as the 76ers shot just 36.4 percent from the field and 6-of-31 on 3-pointers.
“We’ve just got to be sharper, communicate and talk more,” Randle said. “Put more pressure on the ball and not let teams just run what they want to run. But putting pressure on the ball and just mucking things up.”
HIGHLIGHTS: Lakers end their losing skid by beating the 76ers 100-89, behind Randle’s 25 points and 9 rebounds #LakersWin pic.twitter.com/vv2u70vuZB
Notes The 76ers honored Allen Iverson, who entered the Hall of Fame in September, by dubbing this game AI HOF Night. … Philadelphia now has the worst record in the NBA. … The Lakers had a 27-8 advantage in fast-break scoring. … After missing five games due to a sprained ankle, Tarik Black returned but played only three minutes, picking up three fouls. … A sold-out crowd of 20,491 piled into sold-out Wells Fargo Center.
Julius hits ’em with the reverse slam
A photo posted by Los Angeles Lakers (@lakers) on Dec 16, 2016 at 6:11pm PST
