The lights, bright.
The opponent, formidable.
The 76ers, big winners.
Hosting the Los Angeles Lakers (36-10) for Saturday’s primetime matchup, the shorthanded 76ers (30-17) made quite the statement with a 108-91 win.
Here’s some of what was said postgame:
Al Horford (16 pts, 6 reb, 1 stl) scored seven straight points down the stretch which helped seal the Sixers’ victory. Following the game, he applauded his teammates’ determination and togetherness:
Ben Simmons (28 pts, 10 reb, 8 ast, 4 stl) and Tobias Harris (29 pts, 8 reb, 1 blk) delivered huge performances on both ends of the floor. Brett Brown applauded Harris’ drive as a scorer:
Meanwhile, on the defensive end, Simmons and Matisse Thybulle combined for nine steals for the second time in three games. Brown gave his props to the lockdown duo:
On the other side of the ball was, of course, LeBron James, who had a historic night. Passing Kobe Bryant and moving into third place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, James said postgame that he hopes he can be for Simmons what Bryant has been for him:
Thybulle got his first-ever reps guarding James early in Saturday’s contest, and picking a steal off one of the greatest of all time seconds into his assignment. Keeping a cool head, the rookie said he treated the moment with the same determination he brings to any matchup:
Shake Milton (7 pts, 9 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl) got his first career start Saturday in the absence of Josh Richardson (hamstring). Faced with a big moment, Milton kept calm, played his game, and made his mark. Tobias Harris praised the second-year player postgame:
The Sixers’ next matchup comes Tuesday, hosting the Golden State Warriors at The Center.