Joel Embiid scored 28 points, Jimmy Butler added 20 and the Philadelphia 76ers led throughout in a 121-105 victory over the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.
Brandon Ingram had a career-high 36 points for the Lakers, who were missing Kyle Kuzma (hip) along with LeBron James and Lonzo Ball.
Embiid, who also grabbed 11 rebounds, had his NBA-leading 34th game with at least 20 points and 10 boards. He appeared to hurt his back early in the fourth quarter when he fell on an alley-oop attempt but returned later in the game.
Butler was back after missing three games due to a sprained wrist and played mostly point guard. Ben Simmons scored 19 points and Mike Muscala had 17 for the Sixers, who have won three of four.
Philadelphia ran off 12 straight points to take control early. The Sixers extended their lead to 38-17 late in the first quarter and were up 39-20 at the end of the period as they went 15 of 27 from the field and forced eight Lakers turnovers.
A 3-pointer by Landry Shamet gave Philadelphia a 48-24 advantage with 8:14 remaining in the second before Los Angeles scored 16 straight points to get within eight. Ingram scored nine of his 15 points in the quarter during that run. The Sixers answered with a pair of 3-pointers by Wilson Chandler and went into halftime with a 64-53 advantage.
The Lakers got within 80-71 midway through the third quarter on a pair of free throws by Ivan Zubac, but Shamet and Embiid hit 3s to put Philadelphia's lead back in double digits.
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The Sixers went up by as many as 19 in the second half.
TIP-INS
76ers: Embiid is tied with Utah's Rudy Gobert for the league lead in double-doubles with 41. ... Embiid also picked up his third flagrant foul of the season during the third quarter. ... It was the fourth straight game Philadelphia scored 30 points or more in the first quarter. The 76ers are averaging 30.7 points in the opening 12 minutes, second in the league to Golden State. ... The Sixers had 11 steals in the first half, their most in a half since Jan. 27, 2017, vs. Houston.
Lakers: JaVale McGee had 17 points and 14 rebounds. ... Rajon Rondo had 14 assists and has 38 in three games since he returned from a finger injury. ... Tyson Chandler, rested by coach Luke Walton in the previous game, had no points in four minutes. Walton said before the game he would try to monitor Chandler's minutes the remainder of the regular season.
UP NEXT
76ers: At the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night.
Lakers: Face the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night as the visiting team at Staples Center.
