ANTHONY Davis and the LA Lakers see their win streak cut.
LOS ANGELES, United States — Tyrese Maxey was nothing short of spectacular, scoring a career-high 43 points to power the Philadelphia 76ers to a 118-104 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night (Thursday morning, Manila time).
With the 76ers missing star center Joel Embiid for the 12th consecutive game and Paul George sidelined with a finger injury, Maxey seized the opportunity, leading Philly to their third straight win.
The Lakers, on the other hand, saw their four-game win streak come to an abrupt halt, and the night only got worse after star big man Anthony Davis was forced to exit in the first quarter with an abdominal strain.
Davis, who had just posted a massive 42-point, 23-rebound performance against Charlotte the night before, was off to a solid start, but his injury left the Lakers scrambling.
Up by just three when Davis went down, the Lakers’ defense fell apart without their anchor. The 76ers capitalized, outscoring Los Angeles 48-32 in the second quarter to take a commanding 73-57 lead at the break.
Maxey’s aggressive playmaking, combined with strong contributions from teammates, kept the Lakers at bay in the second half.
LeBron James put up 31 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists in the loss, but he lamented his team’s 22 turnovers, which ultimately proved costly.
“When your best player goes out, it’s always challenging,” James said, acknowledging the impact of Davis’ injury. “But we’ve just got to be better. We had too many turnovers tonight that resulted in too many buckets for them. You can’t make mistake after mistake after mistake.”
James did manage to make history, however, becoming the sixth player in NBA history to record 2,311 career steals, surpassing Allen Iverson on the all-time list.
Meanwhile, in Atlanta, the Houston Rockets extended their impressive win streak to four games with a hard-fought 100-96 victory over the Hawks. Jalen Green led the charge for Houston, scoring 25 points as the Rockets survived a late rally from Atlanta.
Coming off three impressive wins — including back-to-back victories over Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland and a 114-112 win over Boston on Monday — Houston looked to keep their momentum rolling, and they did just that.
Green’s steal and subsequent layup gave the Rockets a 96-80 lead with just over five minutes left, but the Hawks weren’t done yet. Atlanta made it a nail-biter, trimming the deficit to 98-96 with less than a minute remaining.
DeAndre Hunter had a golden opportunity to give the Hawks the lead, but his three-pointer missed the mark, and Alperen Sengun sealed the win for Houston with a dunk in the final seconds.
Sengun finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Jae’Sean Tate contributed 16 points off the bench to help the Rockets hold on.
For Atlanta, Trae Young led the way with 21 points, but the Hawks’ struggles continued as they dropped their sixth straight game.