LOS ANGELES -- At times, the game looked like a 25-and-under league.
The Sixers and Lakers are stacked with youth. Brandon Ingram is just 19 years old. Jahlil Okafor and D'Angelo Russell both turned 21 within the past four months. The trend continues down the rosters.
That inexperience showed in a game that came down to the final possessions.
"My first thought is how much they have to learn. This league is punishing when it matters," Brett Brown said. "There are some good players on the court. Time will tell their future path. It's a heck of a league to throw a bunch of 20-year-olds into when it gets serious."
The Sixers edged out a 118-116 win Sunday over the Lakers to snap their four-game losing streak (see Instant Replay). The win wasn’t seamless. The Sixers didn’t do themselves any favors by giving up eight points off five turnovers in the fourth quarter alone.
They surrendered a 12-point lead and found themselves trailing with just over four minutes to go.
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There were eight lead changes over the next three minutes. The Sixers pulled ahead, 113-112, with 50.7 seconds left off a T.J. McConnell jumper. Russell missed a go-ahead three-pointer with 25 seconds remaining.
Jordan Clarkson and Dario Saric each missed a free throw in the final 15 seconds. Saric's miss gave the Lakers the chance at the final shot, which Julius Randle missed from 35-feet out.
"I think you play so long in the NBA, you have to learn how to win," Richaun Holmes said. "We're going through the same thing over here, learning how to walk a game down … There were some mistakes down the stretch, some turnovers, and that's things you can't have if you want to win. Fortunately, we were able to make enough plays to win."
The Lakers started three rookies (Ingram, Russell, David Nwaba); the Sixers started two (Saric and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot). At one point in the game, no player on the court had more than three years of NBA experience. Gerald Henderson then checked in and might as well have been Metta World Peace out there with his eight years in the league.
The lack of experience was even more apparent given the Sixers had played a veteran Clippers team in the same building a day earlier. The Sixers were within one-point of the Clippers with five minutes remaining Saturday. The Clippers went on a 7-0 run to pull away for the win.
"They kind of make some of the same mistakes that we make, with the turnovers, they have lulls sometimes in their play," Henderson said of the Lakers. "With the Clippers the other day, they had a couple lulls but their defense picked up like crazy and they took control of the game. The Lakers never could really do that tonight."
The youth has been heightened on the Sixers and Lakers' rosters because of their recent draft status. In 2014, the Sixers drafted third (Joel Embiid), the Lakers seventh (Randle). The following year, the Lakers selected Russell second, the Sixers followed with Okafor at third. This past summer, the Sixers chose Ben Simmons first overall and the Lakers drafted Ingram second.
This season, both teams are heading toward the lottery, and they are closely linked together in it. The Sixers are owed an upcoming Lakers’ pick, which is top-three protected in 2017 and becomes unprotected in 2018. Following the Sixers' win, the Lakers have the second-worst record (20-46) and the Sixers (24-42) are fifth-worst by half a game over the Magic.
"I'd not be telling the truth if you aren't aware of it. It doesn't influence me," Brown said of the pick scenarios. "I understand the whole thing. It's not the elephant in the room. But it is, watch my guys play. Watch them in Portland, watch them against the Clippers. I don't think much more needs to be said."
The Sixers will have a roster spot to fill as of Monday. The team did not pick up Justin Harper for a second 10-day contract after his first ran out Sunday. Who they bring in, and how much experience he has, remains to be seen.