LOS ANGELES — The Lakers make a gritty comeback led by Austin Reaves to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 119-15 on Tuesday night in Los Angeles at Crypto.com Arena.
It was a slow start for the Lakers to kick this one off. The Sixers went on a 10-2 run to start this game within the first 4 minutes. By minute 5:12 in the first, the Lakers had no choice but to stop the momentum run by the Sixers and call a timeout after Joel Embiid knocked another one down from midrange to go up 20-10. The Lakers could not take care of the ball from the jump and the Sixers were capitalizing on that every single time.
With 2:05 to go in the first quarter, we would see Austin Reaves start to make his way to the scorer’s table to check into the game for the first time tonight. The Lakers would bring the game to within 6 to end the first quarter but they also gave up 7 turnovers which contributed to the early deficit.
As the second quarter got underway, the Lakers would start to make some adjustments that helped them get into a groove and inch closer to the Sixers. Eventually getting them to within 4 with 8:19 to go.
However, things would take a bit of a worrisome turn with 3:03 left in the half. JJ Redick called a timeout and Luka would be seen hunched over in front of the Sixers bench grimacing with some pain.
As he walked towards the Laker bench, he appeared to grab the back of his left leg around the hamstring area. Dončić immediately made his way straight to the locker room to get evaluated. We would not see him return for the remainder of the second quarter.
Despite some real sloppy basketball in the first half, the Lakers managed to stay within 4 with 1:44 to go. As the clock ran down and the half ended, it felt like Joel Embiid was about to go on a complete tear with 20 points off of 10 shots. Especially with the Lakers giving up 13 first half turnovers. Austin Reaves would lead the Lakers with 14 points while the Sixers made their way to the locker room with a 59-51 lead heading into halftime.
It was announced as the third quarter was about to begin that Rui Hachimura would start in place of Luka Dončić as he would not return to the game with left leg soreness. He would only have 10 points tonight before leaving the game in the second. Austin Reaves is still on a minutes restriction but Lakers Reporter Mike Trudell would reveal that Austin, Redick and the staff think they could go a little passed the twenty minute mark tonight if needed.
Joel Embiid made a great fast break assist to Tyrese Maxey to bring the Sixers lead up to 65-51. Redick instantly stops everything and calls a timeout. It was time to regroup before things got completely out of hand.
The rest of the quarter would be a back and forth affair between who was going to take advantage of the turnovers being given away and who can make some stops. The Lakers would really turn up the defense in the third quarter which helped them go on a big run. With 1:27 to go, Maxi Kleber kicks it out to Rui Hachimura in the corner to get the Lakers within 2 points, 83-81.
The defense would battle back and keep the Lakers in it to end the third quarter only down two, 87-85. We were going to be in for a fun final twelve minutes.
Austin Reaves would hit two daggers from three point land to start the fourth quarter to give the Lakers a 91- 87 lead. He would then get fouled and make his way to line for his 29th and 30th point of the evening. Reaves would take a seat afterwards for a few minutes. After two quick fouls by Jarred Vanderbilt with 9:02 to go, the Lakers were going to have to lock in on limiting turnovers and staying out of foul trouble if they were going to win this one.
With 6:50 remaining in the fourth quarter, we would see Marcus Smart drain one from behind the arc to get the Laker lead to 100-91. Then, in the very next Laker possession, with 6:18 on the clock, Smart hits another one from the top of the key to get LA up to a ten point lead, 103-93.
Austin Reaves made his way back into the game and immediately hit a three pointer to give the Lakers a 106-93 lead. While the 76ers would make things interesting late in the quarter and hit a few from three, it ultimately was not enough as the Lakers would take this one by a score of 119-115. Los Angeles win the season series against the 76ers (2-0) as this was their final meeting of the regular season.
It was announced that Luka Dončić would undergo an MRI on his left hamstring on Friday. We will see if he ends up missing any extended period of time after the MRI is complete but the hope is that he will be good to go for Saturday’s matchup versus the Golden State Warriors.
Notable Stats of the Night:
Austin Reaves: 35 Points, 6 Rebounds, 2 assists, 12/17 FG – 5/8 3 PT, 6/7 FT, 24 minutes
LeBron James: 17 Points, 4 Rebounds, 10 Assists
Rui Hachimura: 14 Points, 7 Rebounds, 1 Assist
Joel Embiid: 35 Points, 7 Rebounds, 7 Assists
Tyrese Maxey: 26 Points, 13 Assists
Upcoming Game for the Lakers:
Golden State Warriors (28-24) vs Los Angeles Lakers (31-19)
Saturday, Feb.7, 2026
Tip-Off: 5:30 PM PST/ 8:30 PM EST
Venue: Crypto.com Arena • Los Angeles, CA.
City Champs Media 