LOS ANGELES — From the moment they took the court against the nearly full-strength Philadelphia 76ers, the odds were stacked against the Lakers enough that the loss was already being penciled in.
No LeBron James. No Anthony Davis. A starting lineup with two players who spent significant time in the G League earlier this season.
The Lakers (31-42) were expected to lose Wednesday night, and indeed, they did lose, 126-121. But from their last home appearance a week-and-a-half ago – when the Toronto Raptors all but rolled them into the grave – the Lakers who took the court this time were shockingly defiant and resilient despite their disadvantages.
“I think this game, we’re disappointed we lost,” Coach Frank Vogel said. “But without Bron, without A.D., the group that played tonight showed everyone that we still have a whole lot of fight left in us.”
The sold-out Crypto.com Arena did not feature the full allotment of stars, but fans weren’t short-changed on effort. A roar rippled through the venue at the end of the third quarter, when Wenyen Gabriel kissed a buzzer-beating shot off the backboard, pulling the Lakers within two points of Philadelphia (45-27).
The Lakers got a vintage effort from center Dwight Howard with 24 points – the most he’s scored since 2018. They made Joel Embiid, one of the league’s top MVP candidates this season, fight for everything late: He finished with 30 points but did not score from the field in the fourth quarter. Even at the bitter end when the result was solidifying, Russell Westbrook refused to surrender, stealing an inbounds pass off of James Harden and scoring a quick layup to cut the Philly lead to four with 32 seconds left.
On a night when they had few of their core pieces to work with, the Lakers showed plenty of heart.
While heart might not soothe that the Lakers lost another game and a little ground in the standings, it points to a brighter picture in the final nine games of the regular season. The defeat guaranteed they will finish with a losing record, but the 2-2 stretch of the last four games has displayed a good deal more resilience than the team had previously shown since last month’s All-Star break.
Stanley Johnson said the loss to Toronto, in which they fell behind 21-2 in the first quarter, forced the team to look in the mirror.
“I think since that point in time, we’ve changed it,” he said. “And I think that’s what you have to do, as men, we have to change it. Nobody’s gonna play us softer.”
With James, who sat out to rest his sore knees, likely to return in the near future and Davis still hoping to come back before the end of the regular season, if the Lakers can blend competitive spirit with their talent, the season might not be as far gone as once thought.
They seemed to sense that even as the final seconds ticked off the clock, with Westbrook scoring the last of his 24 points with 18 seconds left and the team continuing to foul while down five points. Their last possession was discombobulated, taking far too long as Malik Monk’s 3-point shot rimmed out as the buzzer sounded.
Still, despite being without their top two scorers, the Lakers wound up shooting 51.5% against the second-place team in the Eastern Conference. While Embiid and Harden (24 points) seemed to seize up late in the game with back and leg injuries, respectively, Tyrese Maxey (21 points) and Tobias Harris (20 points) helped close out a victory late.
Westbrook had his fourth straight game of at least 20 points and eight assists, the longest such streak of the season.
“The most important part is, guys are kind of sliding into their roles a little bit better and learning,” he said. “I know it’s the end of the year, but I think guys are doing a better job of having some confidence and keeping it and being able to make mistakes and then playing through them, keeping a positive energy. Which I thought was good tonight.”
The Lakers trotted out their 35th different starting lineup of the season with an eye toward putting size on Embiid: Gabriel, Howard and Johnson all started in the frontcourt. But while Vogel leaned on them for defense, Johnson surprised with his shooting early, starting 5 for 5 from the floor and leading the Lakers with 13 points after the first quarter.
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Without James, the Lakers were determined to stay moving. They kept running pick-and-rolls, and cutters kept darting to the rim – fulfilling an offensive principle that Vogel said he’s wanted to see in action for weeks.
Westbrook finished 10 for 20, starting out particularly rough from the field. Monk (23 points) helped make up the early gap, thrilling the crowd with a highlight reverse dunk off of a steal.
The Lakers play at New Orleans, the team directly behind them in the standings, on Sunday. It’s likely to be the team they’ll see in a single-elimination play-in game next month, so this game could serve as a preview.
The Lakers would like to show a little bit of the competitiveness they think they can have at the end of the year, assuming they can be fully whole.
“We know that they’re not just gonna give us anything,” Howard said. “No team has given us anything all year. So if we want to win that game we’ve got to go take it.”