Lakers fall short to Sixers in LeBron's absence.
The Lakers battled toe-to-toe with the Sixers for 48 minutes despite being without LeBron James due to knee soreness, putting a huge halt on the Lakers momentum in tonight's loss, falling to Philadelphia 126–121 in a gritty effort to drop their season record back to eleven games under .500 at 31–42.
Despite the absence of LeBron and Anthony Davis, head coach Frank Vogel believed the Lakers played tight with Philadelphia the whole night.
"I think the group that played tonight showed everyone that we still got a whole lotta fight in us," Vogel said.
Although the effort was there tonight, the Lakers find themselves in a deeper hole as the end to the regular season looms, making Sunday's matchup against the Pelicans a must-win, as Russell Westbrook compared it to a playoff-like atmosphere.
"It's going to be a playoff-type of atmosphere for us," Westbrook said. "It's definitely a must-win, I believe, for our group."
"We're hopeful those two games will be played with Anthony Davis." Frank Vogel spoke his hope on the potential of playing in two play-in games, as Anthony Davis' health remains a concern for the playoffs.
Russell Westbrook and Dwight Howard were the Lakers leading scorers in tonight's loss, scoring 24 points each for the Lakers' starting unit.
Outside of his seven turnovers, Westbrook was able to pick up things in the second half for Los Angeles, finishing overall with 24 points on 50% (10-for-20) shooting, adding 9 rebounds and 8 assists in 32 minutes.
Dwight Howard was the Sixers biggest threat inside the paint, scoring all 15 points in the paint on 9-of-14 shooting from the floor, shooting 6-for-9 from the foul line, with 8 total rebounds in his 28 minutes of action.
Stanley Johnson was a significant factor in tonight's energy for the Lakers, starting off the game a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor and 3-for-3 from downtown, scoring 13 points within the first 7 minutes.
"There's no win for us tonight, but the effort is something we can continue," Johnson said after the game on building towards the end of the season.
The Lakers' next matchup is back on the road this Sunday against the New Orleans Pelicans, who sit a half a game behind the Lakers at 30–42, making Sunday's matchup a must-win for both teams with the end to the regular season looming.