Before entering the clash against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Los Angeles Lakers were in fine form. Having won seven of their last nine games, every basketball enthusiast expected the LeBron James-led squad to put up a great fight against the Sixers. To everyone’s surprise, the Purple & Gold got completely outclassed, suffering their biggest-ever loss to the Philly franchise.
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Thanks to Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey’s combined 61-point and 19-assist outing, the Sixers managed to clinch their 12th win of the season. Completely dominating the California side, JoJo and co. grabbed a huge 138-94 win.
Not our night. pic.twitter.com/b8ozTYkSeW
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) November 28, 2023
LeBron James had a subpar performance. Playing under the 30-minute mark after two games, Bron recorded 18 points and 5 assists. Following a horrid outing at the Wells Fargo Center, the King refused to get into any details about the loss. Skip Bayless called James out for his Gregg Popovich-esque behavior.
LeBron went Pop in his postgame interview after the 44-point loss – terse short answers. When asked what should change he said, “A lot.” Exactly what? “A lot.” Hmmm.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) November 28, 2023
While Pop is among the most successful coaches in NBA history, the San Antonio Spurs head coach is known for his short and sarcastic comments. Tonight, according to Bayless, LeBron did his best Popovich impersonation by not completely answering any of the questions.
LeBron James explains why the Lakers suffered an embarrassing loss
While speaking to the media from his locker room, LeBron James was not explaining himself in depth. However, at one point of his relatively boring interview, the 6ft 9” forward pin-pointed the exact reason for the Lakers’ 44-point loss – the disparity in the three-point performance.
As a unit, the Los Angeles Lakers attempted 28 shots from beyond the arc. Out of those, Darvin Ham’s boys were able to connect merely seven (25%). While the Lakers struggled from the three-point field goal, the Sixers had a great production. Backed by the nine three-pointers that Maxey and Beverley combined for, Nick Nurse’s team drilled 22 three-pointers with a 47.8% efficiency.
LeBron was spot on with his assessment that the Purple & Gold “got killed on the 3-point line”.
“We got killed on the 3-point line today.” LeBron keeps it simple with his reason for the loss tonight. pic.twitter.com/jb7vOFWr7B
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) November 28, 2023
While also revealing a few mishaps from the duel, Anthony Davis believed that it would be best if the Purple & Gold “flush” the game mentally.
Anthony Davis breaks down the areas he felt the #Lakers played apart and how they should flush this game mentally. pic.twitter.com/qfqpbmJVm3
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) November 28, 2023
The Lakers have a great chance to regain their confidence as they face the Detroit Pistons as their next matchup.