LOS ANGELES -- Nerlens Noel stayed hot with 15 points and 12 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough as the 76ers collapsed in the fourth quarter and fell to the Los Angeles Lakers, 93-84, Friday night.
Down 73-70 with 8:10 remaining, the Sixers turned it over three times in their next six possessions, and the Lakers converted them all into points to fuel a 15-2 run and put the game away.
T.J. McConnell and Jahlil Okafor each scored 12 points off the bench for the Sixers. McConnell added a team-high seven assists and Robert Covington added 10 points.
Former Sixer Lou Williams had 24 points and Jordan Clarkson had 19 to lead the Lakers. Kobe Bryant sat out with a sore right shoulder.
Ugly finish
It was close most of the game, with 13 lead changes and seven tie scores in the first three quarters. The largest lead by either team to that point was just six points.
That all changed in the fourth.
NBA
The Sixers shot just 2 of 8 from the field during a crucial stretch as the Lakers pulled away, and fell apart defensively in crunch time.
The Lakers shot 10 of 19 from the field in the fourth, including a series of big dunks, easy layups and open jumpers.
The Sixers' collapse turned a 73-70 deficit into a 90-74 hole in less than five minutes.
Shield your eyes
The Sixers and Lakers entered Friday as the two worst shooting teams in the NBA in terms of field goal percentage, and they both lived up to that unfavorable distinction.
The Sixers shot 36.9 percent from the field, anchored by a horrific 4 of 24 showing from 3-point range. They were 31 of 84 from the field overall and shot 72 percent from the free throw line to boot.
The Lakers weren’t much better, shooting 37.9 percent from the field and 75.9 percent from the free throw line.
The Sixers came in shooting 42 percent from the floor with the Lakers right behind them at an NBA-worst 41.3 percent.
No Kobe
Bryant’s sore shoulder robbed the retiring Lakers star of one final game against his hometown team.
The Lower Merion High alum had surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff on the same shoulder last January, causing him to miss the final 35 games of the 2014-15 season. His status is day to day.
Rookie Anthony Brown started in Bryant’s place at small forward and had five points in 22 minutes.
The Lakers and Sixers do not play again this season.
Up next
The Sixers remain in Los Angeles to play the Clippers (21-13) for the first time this season Saturday night. It is the final game of the Sixers’ six-game road trip.
The Clippers have won seven straight over the Sixers dating back to the 2010-11 season, with an average margin of victory of 24.3 points during the streak.
No current member of the Sixers was on their roster the last time they beat the Clippers, 104-94 on March 16, 2011.