Austin Reaves scored 35 points in 25 minutes to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 119-115 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday at Crypto.com Arena.
The Lakers overcame Luka Doncic’s exit with a left leg injury in the first half, while LeBron James added 17 points and 10 assists in snapping 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 in the fourth quarter on Reaves’ back-to-back three-pointers during a 21-6 run, turning momentum after trailing 94-110 with four minutes left.
Philadelphia closed the gap to 116-113 when rookie VJ Edgecombe stole James’ inbounds pass and hit a three-pointer with 36 seconds remaining, but Rui Hachimura’s dunk off Maxi Kleber’s feed sealed the win.
Reaves shot 12-of-17 overall, including five three-pointers, while playing on a minutes restriction in his second game back from a calf injury.
Doncic left with 3:03 remaining in the first half after aggravating a leg injury and did not return, marking a setback just as the Lakers’ core had returned to health.
The Lakers shot 56 percent from the field, including 36 percent from three, and converted 81 percent of free throws, while the 76ers finished 54 percent overall, hitting just 21 percent from deep.
Los Angeles improves to 31-19 and will host Golden State on Saturday, while Philadelphia drops to 29-22 and travels to Phoenix for their next matchup.
