Joel Embid did everything he could to give the 76ers a chance to win but fell just short against the Lakers. Bradley Beal continued his offensive prowess, while the Nets made a second-half comeback versus the Thunder.
Lakers (9-15) defeat 76ers (13-11) - 107-104
Joel Embiid had an absurd stat line against the Lakers in their matchup on November 16th. He had 46 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists, and seven blocks. Embiid started this game with just six points as Philadelphia fell behind by seven in the first quarter. Julius Randle came off-the-bench for the Lakers to score six as well and had this powerful slam over Embiid.
The Lakers nudged their lead to 57-49 at halftime. Brandon Ingram led Los Angeles with 13 points on 5-11 shooting. Embiid had 15 points for the Sixers and got Randle back in the second quarter, putting him in the mixer down low.
The Lakers' lead grew to 16 points by the 5:25 mark in the third, but that number was nine heading into the fourth quarter. That's when Embiid took over. His scoring and passing helped slash the Lakers' lead to one with 2:55 remaining. After a Los Angeles' free throw, Embiid found Richaun Holmes streaking to the basket for a dunk to tie the score. But Randle, who bodied up against Embiid for most of the game, answered with a layup to put the Lakers back ahead. Two Embiid free throws made it 104-104 with 39 seconds left, but after each team missed a shot, Ingram nailed the game-winner from behind-the-arc.
Ingram led the Lakers with 21 points. Lonzo Ball chipped in 10 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists. Embiid had a game-high 33 points for the Sixers, while rookie Ben Simmons added 12 points, 13 rebounds, and 15 assists.
Wizards (14-11) defeat Suns (9-18) - 109-99
Both of these teams are playing without their marquee players.
John Wall is out for the Wizards, and Devin Booker is injured for the Suns. Wizards guard Bradley Beal has stepped up in Wall's absence, scoring 51 points against the Trail Blazers on Tuesday (Dec. 5). Beal scored 11 points in the first quarter, but Washington found themselves down by two after one. In the second, Beal's scoring binge continued on an array of jumpers, soft floaters, and aggressive drives to the bucket.
By halftime, Beal had 22 points, and the Wizards held a 57-52 edge.
The Suns trimmed the deficit to one by the end of the third quarter; however, Washington built that number back up to seven with 7:33 remaining. Phoenix cut the lead back to two, but the Wizards responded by scoring the next nine points to secure the victory. Beal finished with 34 points.
Thunder (11-13) vs Nets (10-14) - 100-95
The Thunder are last in the Northwest Division and in desperate need of wins. They got one Tuesday night (Dec. 5) versus Utah and were looking to string together two straight against Brooklyn in Mexico City. Russell Westbrook scored 18 points in the first half to help Oklahoma City to a 58-49 halftime lead, but things turned from there.
The Nets scored the first seven points in the third to quickly pull within two and were up with 3:14 left in the period. But the Thunder outscored the Nets 9-4 to reclaim the lead going into the fourth. Another strong start to a quarter jetted Brooklyn past Oklahoma City. A Spencer Dinwiddle three-pointer with 5:38 remaining put the Nets up eight and they managed to hold onto the lead until the final buzzer. Chris LeVert had 21 points and 10 assists off-the-bench for Brooklyn. Russell Westbrook had 29 points but shot just 9-26 from the floor. Thunder forward Paul George sat out for the game with an injury.
Rockets (19-4) vs Jazz (13-13) - 112-101
The Jazz have been playing well of late, and center Rudy Gobert has returned from injury. But all Houston does is get buckets.
Rockets' forward Ryan Anderson got four of them for nine points as Houston led 25-20 after the first quarter. The Rockets remained up by that same number at halftime. James Harden had 15 points in the first half for Houston, while Thabo Sefolosha came off the Utah bench to score eight.
A somewhat close game at the break turned into a blowout in the third quarter. James Harden dropped 12 points as the Rockets outscored the Jazz 37-20 to go ahead by 22. Utah would cut the deficit to 11, but the game was never in jeopardy. Harden led Houston with 29 points, and Chris Paul had 18 points, nine rebounds, and 13 assists. Rookie Donovan Mitchell scored 26 for the Jazz.
