3 observations after Sixers lose to Lakers, finish winless West Coast trip

3 observations after Sixers lose to Lakers, finish winless West Coast trip originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers’ fruitless West Coast trip concluded Friday night in Los Angeles.

They’ll head home at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

With a 116-106 defeat to the Lakers, the Sixers fell to 1-7. Los Angeles moved to 5-4.

Anthony Davis posted 31 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. LeBron James recorded a 21-point triple-double and Austin Reaves had a 20-point, seven-assist outing.

The Sixers’ top scorer was rookie Jared McCain with 18 points.

The team was down All-Stars Joel Embiid (suspension) and Tyrese Maxey (right hamstring strain). Paul George, limited to 25 minutes in his third game since returning from a left knee bone bruise, had nine points on 4-for-13 shooting and eight assists.

The Sixers will host the Hornets on Sunday night. Here are observations on their loss to the Lakers:

Nurse turns to all-bench unit 

Kyle Lowry opened the game in Maxey’s usual place and drained a three-pointer for the Sixers’ first points.

The Sixers’ starters didn’t have much early success on either end of the floor, though. The Lakers began 5 for 6 from three-point range and took a 21-10 lead on a Cam Reddish triple. That led Sixers head coach Nick Nurse to call timeout and play some unconventional lineups.

KJ Martin gave the Sixers a sorely needed jolt. In addition to being dangerous and lively in the open floor, Martin improved to 2 for 2 this season from three-point territory.

Reggie Jackson and Ricky Council IV subbed in with around four minutes left in the first quarter. Nurse closed the first and began the second period with an all-bench lineup, suggesting both that he’d been thoroughly dissatisfied with his starters’ initial stint and liked the energy and production from players like Martin and Guerschon Yabusele (14 points on 5-for-6 shooting, five rebounds). Yabusele’s stock certainly rose on the Sixers’ 0-3 trip.

Eric Gordon was not in Nurse’s 10-man rotation. He’d played a poor game Wednesday night in the Sixers’ loss to the Clippers, going scoreless and committing four…

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Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia

Publish date : 2024-11-09 05:54:00

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