Austin Reaves scored 35 points in 25 minutes to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 119-115 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday.
The Lakers overcame the departure of Luka Doncic with a left leg injury in the first half, while LeBron James added 17 points and 10 assists to snap Philadelphia’s five-game winning streak.
Joel Embiid scored 35 points and Tyrese Maxey added 26 points and 13 assists for the 76ers, who lost a 14-point lead and nearly erased a 16-point deficit in the second half.
Los Angeles took its first lead of the fourth quarter on Reaves’ back-to-back 3-pointers during a 21-6 run, turning the momentum after trailing 94-110 with four minutes remaining.
Philadelphia closed the gap to 116-113 when rookie VJ Edgecombe stole James’ inbound pass and hit a three-pointer with 36 seconds left, but Rui Hachimura’s dunk off Maxi Kleber’s feed sealed the victory.
Reaves shot 12 of 17 overall, including five 3-pointers, while playing on a minutes restriction in his second game back from a calf injury.
Doncic left with 3:03 left in the first half after aggravating a leg injury and did not return, marking a setback just as the Lakers’ core was healthy again.
The Lakers shot 56 percent from the field, including 36 percent from three, and converted 81 percent of their free throws, while the 76ers shot 54 percent overall and hit just 21 percent from deep.
Los Angeles improves to 31-19 and will host Golden State on Saturday, while Philadelphia falls to 29-22 and travels to Phoenix for their next game.
#Reaves #scores #Lakers #hold #76ers #Doncic #injury #TalkBasket.net