Lakers vs. 76ers: Score, Highlights, Reaction from 2016 Regular Season

Allen Iverson's party was spoiled by the Los Angeles Lakers, who defeated the Philadelphia 76ers, 100-89, on a night when The Answer was presented with his Basketball Hall of Fame jacket.  

The Lakers, who entered Friday's road contest 0-8 in December, stormed out of the gates with a 13-0 run to open the game. They never looked back from that point, as Julius Randle led the barrage with 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds. 

Randle showed off his defensive chops and highlight-reel skills on a single play right before the half, via the Lakers:

"

Julius Randle picks off the pass and throws down the reverse dunk. #LakeShow

(: @SpectrumSN / @spectdeportes) pic.twitter.com/qQMPiXo3tx

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 17, 2016"

The previous two games were an epic struggle for Randle. He had a combined eight points on 3-of-15 shooting against the Sacramento Kings and Brooklyn Nets prior to finally breaking through against the 76ers. 

Randle had some help from his teammates, though. Second-year guard D'Angelo Russell had 15 points and seven rebounds. Lou Williams was terrific off the bench with 18 points and four steals in 23 minutes. 

Coming into the night, ESPN Stats & Info noted Russell was in select Lakers company in terms of scoring:

Nick Young was also strong for the Lakers. The 31-year-old veteran chipped in 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting, and was part of some terrific ball movement to create better scoring opportunities for himself.

Larry Nance didn't have a huge scoring day with just four points, but the second-year power forward was always around the ball in other ways. He had a game-high 11 rebounds, including four on the offensive end, and added two blocks.

Neither team shot the ball particularly well, though they did have short bursts when things would start to click. The 76ers made one field goal in the first six minutes of the third quarter, allowing the Lakers to extend their lead to 22. 

It seemed like the Lakers would cruise to victory as a result, but their defensive deficiencies allowed the 76ers to close the third quarter on an 18-6 run that reduced the deficit to 10 points. They would get as close to seven points following a Dario Saric three-pointer with just over nine minutes left in the fourth quarter. 

That would be as good as things got for the 76ers late in the game. Despite Saric's three-pointer, shooting from beyond the arc was a teamwide problem. They went just 6-of-31 from three-point range, making the Lakers' 9-of-30 mark look illustrious by comparison.

There were some positives for the 76ers to take away from this defeat. Jahlil Okafor had an efficient day with 14 points and eight rebounds in 24 minutes.

Ersan Ilyasova had a double-double off the bench with 13 points and 10 rebounds, though he was part of the long-range shooting issue by connecting on just one of eight attempts from three-point range. 

Nerlens Noel played just eight minutes in his second game of the season. 76ers head coach Brett Brown said after the game Noel's limited use in the second half was due to only wanting to use one big man at a time, per Rich Hoffman of PhillyVoice.com.

On the bright side for Philadelphia fans, they were treated to a reminder of their good, old days with Iverson leading the franchise when he stepped back on the court before tipoff and during halftime.

This rivalry is not nearly what it used to be with the Lakers and 76ers still on the rebuilding track. There is a lot of young talent on both sides with a great deal of promise, which was on display tonight, and the future doesn't look as dark in Los Angeles or Philadelphia as it once did. 

But this matchup was indicative of how far away both the Lakers and Sixers are from even thinking of competing for a playoff spot, let alone challenging for a title. Patience is a virtue and necessity for fans of these two legendary NBA franchises, but the Lakers will take bragging rights for now. 

Postgame Reaction

Lakers head coach Luke Walton gave Nance particular credit for the team's win: "He was probably our most impactful player out there tonight," per the Lakers' official Twitter account. 

Expanding on Nance's impact, Walton joked about how the low-scoring output doesn't do justice to what happened. 

"I told Larry that was one of the best four-point performances I've seen in a long time, and I'm dead serious," Walton said, per NBA.com. 

In allowing their fewest points of the season, Randle explained how the Lakers can build off this performance for the future. 

"We've just got to be sharper, communicate and talk more," Randle said, per NBA.com. "Put more pressure on the ball and not let teams just run what they want to run. But putting pressure on the ball and just mucking things up."