By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Philadelphia 76ers (16-27) were without two of their biggest offensive weapons, but found a way to fight back and beat the Los Angeles Clippers (30-17) tonight by a final score of 121-110. The win snaps a nine-game losing streak the Sixers had against the Clippers heading into tonight's game. Also, it secured the Sixers a winning record for the month of January, their first since November 2012 and the first in Brett Brown's time as head coach.
Both Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor missed the game due to injury, but Nerlens Noel and Richaun Holmes had no problem stepping in and filling their shoes, combining to score 37 points on 16-for-22 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds. The Sixers had 35 assists on their 45 made field-goals tonight.
The Sixers trailed by as many as 19, but used a third quarter surge to start the fourth in a tie. Their dominance in the paint played a gigantic part in the fourth quarter en route to a victory over a 30-win Clippers team that had recently won seven straight and holds the fifth best record in the NBA. Philadelphia outscored LA 66-20 in the painted area, they turned the ball over just six times, forced 19 Clipper turnovers and scored 36 points off those miscues. The Sixers were efficient at the line as well, hitting 21 of 22 while LA made 26 of their 41, under 65 percent.
Nerlens Noel started at center for the first time since last season and boy did he look good. The former Kentucky Wildcat finished with 19 points (8-10 fg), seven rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals, cementing a handful of plays with emphatic jams to keep momentum on the Sixers' side. He played a season-high 29 minutes.
Sheesh 😳 pic.twitter.com/rczlaKsZ9Y
— Philadelphia 76ers (@Sixers) January 25, 2017
Meanwhile, Richaun Holmes, after spending the better part of the last month in the D-League, erupted for 18 points (8-11 fg) off the bench, tying a career-high, to spark the Sixers' second unit. 20 of the 30 points scored by Philadelphia in the third was from the bench. Holmes was a +13 on the night. Dario Saric had a 16-point effort off the bench, Robert Covington contributed with 14 points and TJ McConnell finished with nine points and 10 assists. Celebrity Sixers fan Kevin Hart was in the house and was treated to a number of great plays.
Richaun with the slam! Kevin approves. #SixersTalk pic.twitter.com/ZdVgyaR9jw
— CSN Philly (@CSNPhilly) January 25, 2017
The Sixers kept things close in the first, trailing by just two after one, 29-27 with Richaun Holmes scoring 11 points off the bench. LA extended their lead to nine at halftime thanks to 14 three-pointers in the first two quarters. They went up by as many as 19 in the third, but Philadelphia staged a run to outscore the Clippers by nine in the quarter and tie things up at 89 heading into the final 12 minutes.
The Sixers kept rolling to start the fourth, getting out to a 100-94 lead with 8:26 to go in the game. LA cut it to three, but the Sixers shots kept falling as they maintained a 106-98 advantage halfway through the fourth. They wouldn't let up, holding a potent Clippers offense at bay down the stretch to earn the win.
Jamal Crawford led the Clippers with 27 off the bench while JJ Redick and Austin Rivers scored 22 and 20, respectively.
Up Next:
The Sixers head to Milwaukee on Wednesday for the second half of their back-to-back. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. Joel Embiid will not play.
