LeBron, Reaves Impress Fans as Lakers Beat Joel Embiid, 76ers amid Luka Doncic Injury

LeBron James and Austin Reaves lifted the Los Angeles Lakers to a 119-115 home win over Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday after Luka Doncic exited with an injury.

Doncic finished with 10 points, four rebounds and two assists before exiting in the second quarter and being ruled out for the remainder of the game with left leg soreness.

James finished with 17 points, four rebounds and 10 assists, while Reaves poured in 35 points and added five rebounds off the bench in his second game back from injury. Rui Hachimura contributed 14 points and seven rebounds.

Los Angeles improved to 31-19 and moved past the Minnesota Timberwolves into fifth place in the Western Conference, tied with Houston, with all three teams eight games back of first-place Oklahoma City.

For Philadelphia, Embiid totaled 35 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and Tyrese Maxey added 26 points and 13 assists. Rookie VJ Edgecombe chipped in 19 points and 10 rebounds, but it was not enough as the 76ers fell to 9-22.

Fans praised Reaves, James and the Lakers for closing out the win despite Doncic's second-half absence.

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Reaves returned to action Tuesday after missing 19 straight games with a calf injury suffered on Christmas Day. In his return against Brooklyn, he finished with 15 points, four rebounds and two steals off the bench in 21 minutes.

Thursday, Philadelphia carried an eight-point lead into halftime after a Dominick Barlow basket set up by an assist and steal from Embiid. Los Angeles trimmed the deficit to two after three quarters despite Doncic being sidelined.

The Lakers surged ahead early in the fourth behind back-to-back 3-pointers from Reaves. Maxey and the 76ers mounted a late push, cutting the margin to two with 27 seconds left, but Rui Hachimura's late dunk sealed the win.

The Lakers will continue their homestand Saturday against the Golden State Warriors.