Sixers survive Lakers behind clutch Harris jumper

That's what you call a statement win.

On Wednesday night in front of a national televised audience on ESPN, the Sixers handed the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers their first road loss of the season in ten games. The victory moved the Sixers record to 13-6.

Philadelphia’s starting frontcourt came up large in this one. Joel Embiid continued his recent stretch of aggressive play, scoring 28 points on 18 shots and working his way to the free throw line 13 times where he converted 11. Tobias Harris added 24 on 10-of-16 shooting and grabbed 7 rebounds. And Danny Green continued his hot shooting, connecting on 4 of his nine 3-pointers en route to 14 points. Since going 0-of-7 from beyond the arc in Atlanta on January 11, the 33-year-old has hit on 40.6% of his 8.0 3-point attempts per game over his last 8.

Ben Simmons had himself a night, too. The 6’10” point guard blitzed Los Angeles for his third triple-double of the season with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists against only a single turnover. It was a clean game overall for Philadelphia in that regard, as they totaled only 11 giveaways.

The balanced effort was necessary to slow down the best team in the league spearheaded by the ever-brilliant LeBron James. The 18-year veteran continues to experience perhaps the lengthiest prime in NBA history, pouring in 34 points on 12-of-22 shooting to go along with six rebounds and assists apiece. Carrying the team on his shoulders, he nearly made up for a relatively tame Anthony Davis outing. The perennial All-Star power forward still had 23 and 8, but it simply didn’t feel like a dominant performance, which manifested with the Lakers being outscored by 4 in his minutes on the night.

Things couldn’t have started much better for the Sixers. After falling behind 14-11 lead four minutes in, Philadelphia thrashed the Lakers for a 23-4 outburst charged by 11 of Embiid’s 13 first quarter points. The Lakers closed the frame with 6 straight, but the tone was set, and they found themselves down 34-24 after one.

The second quarter saw the Lakers narrow the gap to 55-51 by halftime fueled by a relentless James, who entered the break with 22 points. After a stellar first, the Sixers’ offense stalled a bit in the second, producing only 21 points on 38.1% shooting. The opening minutes of the third saw them find their flow again—they hit six of their first 8 shot attempts to increase the lead to 68-55.

But the Lakers weren’t ready to give the game away. After a scoreless first half, Dennis Schroeder came alive, pumping in 8 third quarter points and keying an 13-2 run that brought the deficit to within a single score. Philadelphia responded with 9 unanswered of its own, however, and by the end of three, it still held the advantage, 81-74.

The final frame went exactly as the Sixers hoped it would—for about 9 minutes. With 5:10 to go, a Harris 3 gave them a 14-point lead. The teams traded scores for the next two minutes and with just over three to play, Philadelphia stood on top 105-93, seemingly set up to coast to the finish line.

But no team with James at the helm can ever truly be counted out, especially when Alex Caruso lights a fire underneath him off the bench. The former undrafted free agent scored 7 fourth quarter points, including a momentum-shifting three as part of a stunning 13-0 explosion. The run was capped off by a James assist to a cutting Davis for a layup that put Los Angeles ahead 106-105 with just 11.2 seconds remaining.

Doc Rivers took a timeout, and when play resumed, the ball found itself in Harris’ hands at the top of the key defended by Caruso. With four inches and 40 pounds on his man, it was exactly the mismatch the Sixers wanted. Harris drove left toward the edge of the paint, pulled up, and splashed in a 15-footer with 3.0 seconds on the clock. Davis missed a deep prayer at the buzzer, sealing the Lakers’ fate.

The Sixers will have to avoid an emotional letdown after such a stirring win on Friday night when they travel to Minnesota to face the Timberwolves at 8 p.m. Minnesota is currently in the basement of the Western Conference at 4-13. Franchise center Karl-Anthony Towns has been limited to only 4 games this season.