By Kevin McCormick, Sports Talk Philly Editor
Saturday night the Sixers had their second big test of the year, hosting the Los Angeles Lakers in prime time. All eyes were on this game as LeBron James was set to make history.
In this game, LeBron James passed Kobe Bryant to become the third all-time scorer in NBA history. The Sixers spoiled his historic night in the process, as the Sixers would go on to win the game by a final score of 108-91.
This was easily the biggest win on the year for the Sixers. Facing the top team in the Western Conference and being down two starters. From the opening tip, the Sixers were energetic and did a great job frustrating the Lakers.
Ben Simmons added another All-Star performance to the recent run he has been on. He led the charge for the Sixers racking up 41 minutes in the win. Simmons’ night ended with 28 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, and four steals.
Tobias Harris also came out and showed the national audience why his name should be in the All-Star conversation. He finished the night was 29 points and eight rebounds. Harris was a great running mate with Simmons helping carry the Sixers to victory in this game.
Al Horford also deserves a lot of credit in this game. His final stat-line was 16 points, six rebounds, and one assist. But his play was much bigger. Horford had the task of guarding Antony Davis and did a nice job slowing him down with almost no help. On top of that, he scored seven straight points late in the fourth quarter to help get the lead back out of reach.
The supporting cast also helped in this win. Matisse Thybulle, Shake Milton, Furkan Korkmaz, and Raul Neto all gave quality minutes on the court and gave small scoring efforts when needed.
Wins like this are a huge confidence boost moving forward. The Sixers will enjoy two days off, and then look to keep rolling on Tuesday when they will face off against the Golden State Warriors.