Philadelphia 94, LA Lakers 93: Cold 4th Quarter Dooms Lakers

This has been an all-too familiar sight for Los Angeles Lakers fans, regardless of the outcome: hot shooting hands going cold and dead in the fourth quarter.

Tonight, the latest beneficiary of the purple and gold palms turning blue and limp were the Philadelphia 76ers, who are in sixth place in  the Eastern Conference at 34-31.

Have mercy, Miss Percy, these blokes blew it again.

In a 94-93 win for the Sixers, which was capped off by Andre Iguodala's three-pointer with 0:01 to go, the scoreline took on a grim note worthy of An Drochshaol-Gaelic for The Bad Life (also known as the Irish Potato Famine of 1845) for the home fans at Staples Center.

The Lakers were outscored, 32-20,  the fourth quarter.

The fact that LA outperformed Philadelphia in field goal percentage (50% to 44.2%), 3-point percentage (7-18, 38.9% to 25.0%) and free throw percentage (80% to 72.2%) was no match for blight-like numbers from the bench.

Sasha Vujacic had only five points, Josh Powell and Luke Walton four points, and Jordan Farmar three points.

The Laker front five bailed the bench out against Dallas. Not this time.

Kobe Bryant's touch was off the mark. He shot 5 for 15, with only 11 points.

Derek Fisher also underperformed against the Sixers, going 3-for-9 with 9 points.

Pau Gasol led all scorers with 25, also going 7-for-9 behind the charity stripe.

For the Sixers, Iguodala let all scorers with 25 points, while Louis Williams paced the bench with 18 points.

With Cleveland gaining the best record in the NBA thanks to a 97-93 win over the Orlando Magic, Andrew Bynum's expected return next month could be salvation for the Lakers in their hopes to remain in the race for home court advantage in the playoffs.

Phil Jackson's club, which clinched the Pacific Division on Sunday, falls to 53-14 for the year. The defeat, which breaks a three-game winning streak and an eight-game home winning streak, also splits the season series with the Sixers.

The Lakers are currently eight games ahead of the San Antonio Spurs for the best record in the Western Conference.

The inability for the Lakers's triangle offense to adjust to a zone defense, combined with failing to stop buzzer-beating shots, cold fourth quarter and an inconsistent bench, will need to be addressed when the Golden State Warriors come to town on Thursday.