76ers 111, Lakers 104
LOS ANGELES -- With forward Thaddeus Young leading the way with 25 points, the Philadelphia 76ers ended a 13-game skid on the road, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 111-104 on Sunday before a sellout crowd of 18,997 at Staples Center.
The Sixers (9-21) also handed the Lakers (13-18) a season-high fifth straight defeat.
Guard Evan Turner scored 22 points and center Spencer Hawes added 19 points and eight rebounds. Young also had a team-high nine boards for Philadelphia. Guard Michael Carter-Williams had 13 points, five assists and four steals.
Guard Nick Young led the Lakers with 26 points. Guard Jodie Meeks had 15 points.
The Lakers were again without center Pau Gasol, who missed his second consecutive game with an upper respiratory infection. Jordan Hill started at center and played well, finishing with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
The Sixers led 102-99 after a jumper by Turner with 3:33 remaining. A layup by Young increased the margin to five before Hill's basket inside cut the gap to three.
A three-point play by Young pushed the lead to 107-101 with 1:15 left before guard Jordan Farmar's 3-pointer sliced the lead to 107-104 with 55.2 seconds remaining. But the Lakers never scored again.
Forward Shawne Williams missed a game-tying trey with 20 seconds remaining before the Lakers were forced to foul Carter-Williams with 13.2 seconds left. Carter-Williams hit both free throws to secure the win.
Los Angeles bolted to a 12-2 lead less than three minutes into the contest, but Philadelphia bounced back. The Sixers used an 18-4 surge for a 20-16 lead after two free throws by Young with 2:21 remaining in the first quarter. The Lakers scored the final six points of the quarter for a 22-20 advantage.
The Sixers built a nine-point lead midway through the second quarter before the Lakers rallied and tied the score at 52 on Young's 3-point basket with 4.2 seconds left before halftime.
In the third, Philadelphia blew past the Lakers with a 19-4 run after a 3-pointer by guard James Anderson with 3:19 remaining gave it a 79-66 lead. The Lakers closed to within seven before the Sixers took a 86-77 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
NOTES: How good has Philadelphia G Michael Carter-Williams been? He entered Sunday leading all rookies in scoring (18.1), rebounding (5.5) and assists (7.7) and was the league leader in steals (3.06). ... Sixers G-F Evan Turner returned to the starting lineup after missing Saturday's game at Phoenix with a sore right knee. ... Despite a shortage of point guards, Mike D'Antoni had little use for Lakers reserve G Kendall Marshall, who received almost no playing time since being signed as a free agent earlier this month. "He's got to be better than the point guard we have out there. 'X' right now is doing a pretty good job," said D'Antoni, referring to backup Xavier Henry, who is playing out of position to accommodate for injuries to Steve Nash and Steve Blake. Henry suffered a strained right knee late in the first quarter and did not return. Marshall got his first action since playing four scoreless minutes Dec. 23 at Phoenix.
