Lakers fall to the 76ers despite late-game push, losing their 4th straight game.
Despite a late-game 4th quarter comeback push, the Lakers weren't able to seal the win tonight against a really good Philadelphia 76ers team, losing 109–101. The Lakers' struggles continue as they drop their 4th straight-game since LeBron James suffered a high ankle sprain. This team has to find a way to adjust fast without their stars Anthony Davis and LeBron James as they continue to drop in the Western Conference standings. With tonight’s loss to the 76ers, the Lakers season record moves to 28–17 and still remains in 4th place in the West.
Tonight’s loss was the Lakers' game to win, as they played with great energy in the first two quarters, ending the first half tied 54–54 but then Danny Green happened. Danny Green was a huge part of last season's championship run for the Lakers and tonight he made them pay. Green could not miss from the three finishing with 28 points on 8–12 (67%) shooting from the perimeter and nailing a heartbreaking dagger corner three in Kyle Kuzma’s face to put the game away. Lakers head coach Frank Vogel spoke on some rough quarters the Lakers have had in their tough four-game losing stretch:
“I think our teams fighting, scratching and clawing and giving a great effort. We're just having a stretch where we make some poor decisions and miss some assignments on the defensive end. We just got to put it together for 48 minutes.”
One huge takeaway from tonight’s Lakers loss was their sloppiness on both sides of the ball. The Lakers finished with 20 turnovers tonight tying the second-most this season. The Lakers needed to take advantage of a 76ers team who were without MVP candidate Joel Embiid tonight and Dwight Howard. Dwight Howard was tossed from tonight’s game at the end of the first quarter receiving his second technical after bumping into Lakers Montrezl Harrell.
The Lakers' leading scorer tonight was Kyle Kuzma, who changed his hair color back to blonde! He had his highs and lows tonight but overall had a solid performance. In a game of 41 minutes, Kuzma finished with 25 points and 9 rebounds, shooting 3–9 (33%) from three and 9–21 (43%) overall from the field.
The Lakers only finished with 27 bench points on the night, for the Lakers that is low for their standard as they have had a night where their bench has gone off for 70 plus points. Montrezl Harrell led the way tonight for the bench finishing with 20 points and 8 rebounds on 8–13 (61%) from the field. Harrell talked about the Lakers defensive performance tonight with missed rotations and energy on defense:
“Guys started to make shots, the 3rd quarter, hurt us a lot. They hit four or five threes which caused them to get on that big run and take that lead. We got to find a way to take that out of the game.”
The Lakers had one of their worst performances of the season tonight from their bench, outside of Harrell’s 20 points the Lakers only had 7 points from Alex Caruso, Talen Horton-Tucker, Alfonzo McKinnie, and Wes Matthews. All four of those players combined for 7 points in a total of 64 minutes. That group combined went 2–15 (13%) from the field and that is not a recipe for success.
One player who was heavily talked about during the trade was Lakers point guard Dennis Schroder. Schroder’s contract is due to end after the season as extension talk has been in the air throughout the season and tonight he spoke about the rumors and contract talk saying:
“It’s a crazy business. At the end of the day, I want to play the season out… I for sure want to be a Laker, but I want to see my options, but I want to be a Laker. It needs to be fair for both sides, and I’m going to stay with that.”
In 38 minutes tonight, Dennis Schroder had a solid performance outside of some sloppy late-game turnovers (finished with 6 turnovers overall). He finished with a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds on 6–14 (43%) shooting from the field. This is Schroder’s first double-digit assist in his tenure as a Laker and his second double-double of the season.
After going through the last couple of days rumored to possibly be traded, Lakers Kentavious Caldwell-Pope answered back tonight with a great performance. Caldwell-Pope had 19 points, shooting a solid 3–5 (60%) from three and 6–10 (60%) overall from the field. The Lakers are going to need KCP to have performances like tonight because when he’s shooting great only a few teams can beat this Lakers team.
The Lakers were happy to have Marc Gasol back in the lineup after missing the previous 9 games. Having Marc Gasol in the lineup tonight was a huge help for this Lakers squad. He was a difference-maker and paint protector this team missed since he was out of the lineup. Gasol played only 15 minutes as head coach Frank Vogel said his minutes would be restricted due to his health. Gasol was out the previous 9 games due to contracting COVID as he spoke about it after tonight’s game with the media:
“When it hits you, it hits you pretty hard. It’s not just about you, but who you pass it on to. It’s nothing to play around with. Something very serious.”
The Lakers will play tomorrow night against a not-so-great 17–27 Cleveland Cavs team. Tomorrow night’s matchup is what this Lakers team desperately needs as they have lost four straight games and look to bounce back against a young Cavs team who won't go out quietly.