Without LeBron or Davis, the Lakers gave the 76ers a fight

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers battled it out against the Philadelphia 76ers in Wednesday night’s game at Crypto.com Arena, hosting the second-best team in the Eastern Conference. Despite the adversities that the Los Angeles team has faced this season and the absence once again of its stars Lebron James and Anthony DavisLakers fought until the end against one of the favorite teams for the title currently in the NBA, although they ended up losing.

“We are improving and growing. We are building habits that can help us in the postseason. We are disappointed that we lost, but without LeBron and AD, we showed that this group has a lot of fighting spirit still in them, ”said coach Frank Vogel after the result.

“We have to win as many games as possible, but when you see this game where you’re without two of your stars and you fight the way we did, it gives you confidence. We are looking for signs of life from the group and I feel good about the direction we are going,” he added.

The Lakers took the loss 126-121, but stayed in the game without allowing Philadelphia to find a wide lead. In the first half, the Angelenos were up on the scoreboard.

LeBron James missed the game due to knee discomfort, it could be said that it was a strategic move in terms of physical load, after four games in the last week on the road, added, in addition, to the trip back to Los Angeles from the East Coast of the United States. LeBron is expected to reappear in New Orleans on Sunday.

For his part, Anthony Davis missed his 15th game with a sprained ankle suffered in February. According to coach Vogel, Davis is progressing favorably from the injury, but the exact date of his return is still unknown.

Both LeBron and Anthony supported the Lakers from the bench.

Fans packed the Los Angeles Arena in a highly anticipated game to see in action Joel Embid, james harden and company. Harden scored 24 points, while Embiid finished with a double-double of 30 points and 10 rebounds for the 76ers victory.

Los Angeles Rams receiver named Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp sat as a special guest near the Lakers bench and shared a special moment with LeBron.

LAKERS TRAVEL TO NEW ORLEANS
Lakers will travel to New Orleans for their next game in a duel with high implications thinking about the playoffs. At the moment, the purple and gold are in ninth place in the Western Conference and the Pelicans are tenth, just a half game behind the Angelenos.

“It is a game that we definitely want to win. I think that if we do what we have been working on, it puts us in a good position to fight for victory. It will be a postseason environment because I consider it a win-win game for us.” Russell Westbrook who had a night of 24 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists.

There are nine games left in the regular season, of which two are direct matchups between the Lakers and Pelicans. If they remain in the standings as new and ten, both would qualify for the play-in and would meet in that instance with Los Angeles as the venue for a third time.

“It’s something similar you could say to what you face in the postseason. You face the same opponent in a row and you can make slight adjustments from match to match. I hope that the collective experience that this group has in postseason instances pays off, ”Vogel concluded.