Joel Embiid scored 38 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, De’Anthony Melton posted career highs with 33 points, eight 3-pointers and seven steals and the host Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 133-122 in overtime on Friday.
Los Angeles rallied from nine down in the final 29 seconds to force overtime, but Philadelphia scored the first 12 points of the extra session to snap a three-game losing streak.
James Harden contributed 28 points and 12 assists and Tobias Harris chipped in with 14 points and nine rebounds for the Sixers, who played without Tyrese Maxey for the 10th consecutive game due to a fractured left foot. Georges Niang and Danuel House Jr. were also out because of foot injuries.
Los Angeles star Anthony Davis returned from a one-game absence caused by a non-COVID illness to produce 31 points and 12 rebounds, but the Lakers dropped their third in a row.
Russell Westbrook also had 12 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds to become the first Laker to record a triple-double off the bench since Magic Johnson on Feb. 14, 1996.
Austin Reaves scored 25 points for the Lakers, and LeBron James scored 23 after missing the previous game because of an ankle ailment. Lonnie Walker IV had 15 points.
Melton’s trey gave the Sixers an 111-95 edge with 4:46 remaining.
James’ three-point play with 1:07 left cut the deficit to 115-110.
Then with 44.1 seconds left, Melton’s 3-pointer extended the Sixers’ lead back to eight. Embiid sank one foul shot with 34.1 seconds to go for a 119-110 lead.
Los Angeles’ Patrick Beverley sank a 3-pointer with 28.1 seconds to go, and after a Westbrook steal, Davis made two foul shots 1.1 seconds later. Another Beverley steal and a Reaves trey pulled the Lakers within 119-117 with 12 seconds left.
After Melton made one free throw, Reaves was fouled on a trey attempt with 9.2 seconds remaining and hit 2 of 3 free throws to close the Lakers within 120-119.
After a turnover by Harris, Davis was fouled and made 1 of 2 with 3.7 seconds left to send the game into overtime.
The Lakers didn’t score in overtime until Beverley hit a layup with 35 seconds left.
Embiid scored 20 points in the first quarter as the Sixers went ahead 31-20.
The Lakers made 13 consecutive shots in the second quarter but trailed 61-59 at halftime.
The Sixers kept attacking and took a 90-79 advantage when Matisse Thybulle picked up a steal and sent a crisp pass to Melton for a layup with 2:56 to go in the third.
Philadelphia opened the fourth quarter with a quick 9-1 run, capped by Harden’s trey from the wing, to build a 102-84 advantage.
–Field Level Media
