The Lakers missed not only Anthony Davis but also LeBron James as they hosted the 76ers. Despite missing two superstars, Los Angeles put on a real fight against Philadelphia and lost by just 5 points (126-121).
Lakers head coach Frank Vogel was pleased with the effort that he saw from his players, saying that it will help the team in postseason.
“We’re making progress. We’re building the habits that are going to win for us in the postseason,” he said after the game. “We’re continuing to grow. I think this game we’re disappointed we lost but without Bron, without AD I think the group that played tonight showed everyone that we still got a whole lot of fight left in us.
“I was proud of how we competed. We continue to evolve when we get to the finish line of the 82 games, again we’re not going to be the same exact group that played 10 games under .500 basketball.
“That’s the goal is what can we build that’s going to win for us in the postseason, in the play-in games. we’re making progress with that. We fell short tonight but pleased with the effort.”
Los Angeles are just 2 games above the eleventh-placed Spurs. A couple of more losses could push the purple and gold out of the play-in zone, provided that San Antonio wins its games.
For the Sixers the story is different. With this win they moved up to the second place in the Eastern Conference and have a real chance of climbing to the top.
