Lakers beat 76ers, halt eight-game losing streak
PHILADELPHIA -- Julius Randle had 25 points and nine rebounds, Lou Williams added 18 points and the Los Angeles Lakers snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 100-89 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
D'Angelo Russell and Nick Young also had 15 points apiece for the Lakers (11-18), who won for the first time since Nov. 30 at Chicago. Jordan Clarkson scored 10 points and Larry Nance Jr. swept 11 rebounds.
Russell appeared in his fourth game after missing 11 straight games while receiving platelet-rich plasma therapy on his right knee.
Joel Embiid led the Sixers (6-20) with 15 points while Jahlil Okafor and Robert Covington added 14 each. Ersan Ilyasova contributed 13 points and 10 rebounds while Nik Stauskas had 12 points.
It was the eighth consecutive home loss for the Sixers, who shot 6 for 31 from beyond the arc.
For the first time ever, Embiid, Okafor and Nerlens Noel were active and played in the same game. Embiid and Okafor were in the starting lineup for the second straight game while Noel came off the bench.
Noel was out for the first 23 games this season following knee surgery in October. Noel, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2013 draft, played 10 minutes Sunday at Detroit and then sprained his left ankle and missed Wednesday's123-114 loss to the Toronto Raptors.
It didn't take long for the Lakers to extend their 13-point halftime lead in the third quarter, going up 68-46 with 5:41 remaining.
During the 15-6 run, the Sixers missed 12 of their 14 shots.
The home crowd began showering the Sixers with boos after a lackluster turnover resulted in a steal and driving layup by Williams for a 74-55 lead with 2:11 left in the third.
But the Sixers rallied and scored the final nine points of the quarter to close within 74-64.
After the Sixers closed within 80-73, the Lakers responded and jumped back ahead by 14 at 89-75 following a basket by Nance with 6:18 remaining.
The Sixers whittled the lead down to seven in the final two minutes but came up with a pair of empty possessions.
The Lakers opened the game by surging to a quick 13-0 lead after hitting their first five shots. They held a 30-18 advantage after the first.
Late in the second, Randle stole the ball, dribbled 50 feet and threw down a vicious reverse dunk for a 47-33 Lakers advantage.
The Lakers went ahead 53-40 at halftime as Randle led the way with 13 points.
Philadelphia struggled offensively and shot 15 of 46 (32.6 percent) in the first half, including just 2 of 15 from 3-point territory.
NOTES: Lakers G Jose Calderon sat out with a strained right hamstring. ... The Sixers held a moment of silence before the game for longtime NBA television sideline reporter Craig Sager, who died of leukemia on Thursday after a two-year battle. ... Lakers coach Luke Walton, on the team's tough early schedule with six back-to-backs already: "That's the NBA. It's tough because we have a young team. We have 19-year-olds who aren't used to this." ... The Sixers honored Allen Iverson all night for his recent Hall of Fame induction. Unlike his fearlessness on the court, Iverson described a different emotion when he was asked to give his induction speech. "I've never been that nervous before -- ever," Iverson said. ... Sevyn Streeter returned to perform the national anthem before the Lakers-Sixers game. Streeter was originally supposed to sing before the season opener but was denied by Sixers management because she donned a jersey which read, "We Matter."