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The Lakers arrive to Philly after an amazing away win against the Cavs

The 76ers have conceded an average of 115 points in last 4 games

With three consecutive defeats and 5 home consecutive defeats, Philadelphia 76ers hosted the Boston Celtics on Wednesday evening hoping they would confirm their win achieved in the TD Garden a week earlier. But this time Boston had a motivated Rond who proved to be a unsolvable mystery for the porous Philadelphia defense, along with great Green and Sullinger.

Boston controlled the entire match an they were up by 56-47 at half-time. The 76ers tried to catch up in the second half, but they never came closer than 3 points. 


- This has been the story throughout the season. We fight to get back in the game but we simply lose too much energy in the process - said Hawes.


The 76ers ended up having a 44.7% field goal but they still reacted poorly in the defense where they allowed Philadelphia to get 48.8%. Even though Philly's starters ended the game with double-digit efficiency, it is worth mentioning Young's performance who was their most efficient player with 20 (9/17), while Hawes also had a good game with 13 points (5/13) and 14 rebounds.


- I don't think we lost the game due to defensive intensity. They took the shots we wanted them to take, but the shots simply went in - Turner commented, while coach Brown was disappointed with his team's performance in the offensive departments in the final stages of the game.


- Congratulations to the Celtics' defense, but I think we have to first make some changes in our offensive game, especially in the decisive moments.


The last time the 76ers lost 6 home games in a row was in the '96/'97 season and coach Brown's boys need to win tonight against the decimated Lakers in order to avoid this "achievement". They will have to improve their defense, which is the worst in the league with an average of 110 points allowed, but to make things worse, it has risen to 115 points in the last four games.


- We have shown in some games that we have the ability to play well in defense as well, but in some games we are pretty much uninterested in this aspect. We have to keep working so that things finally fall into their place - said Hawes. 


Los Angeles Lakers may not see the play-offs this season, but it's hardly their fault considering what has happened to them. After losing 19 out of last 22 games, including 7 in row, Mike D'Antoni's boys left Cleveland on Wednesday evening with a 119-108 win.


The Hollywood team went into the game with only 8 players available but poor defensive performance from the hosts and great shooting performances got them a 29-point leads. Nick Young got injured and the Cavse managed to pull themselves back a bit, but the half-time result (70-49) still showed their inferiority. The rest of the game brought some more bizarre situations. The cramps got the best of Jordan Farmar who was very much motivated in the game, while Chris Kaman got his sixth personal foul and was suspended with 8 and a half minutes to go. Another problem came 5 minutes later when Robert Sacre got the sixth foul as well, but NBA rules state that there can be no less than 5 players on the court so he was allowed to play on but his every foul was supposed to be a technical foul. Despite all the problems, the Lakers somehow managed to preserve the lead until the end, but a poor shooting performance from the Cavs helped them a lot.


- We kept on saying to ourselves that we mustn't succumb to the situation, and we definitely had to fight, especially when the bodies started flying out of the game. Everyone gave their best and Steve Blake saved us in the end as he got several very important shots - commented Ryan Kelly who ended the game with 26 points.


The Lakers had a 53.2% field goal, including 18 out 37 (48.6%) for three points which is the club record for three-pointers. Steve Blake played a phenomenal game as he got 11 points, 10 rebounds and 15 assists, while Jordan Farmar and Wesley Johnson added 21 and 20 points, respectively. In fact, every player except young had a double-digit scoreline. 


The MRI has shown that Nick Young has fractured his left knee and will have to wait at least two weeks so their list of injuries is even more "impressive". At least Steve Nash should be able to play tonight as he missed the game against the Cavs after playing in Minneapolis, which was his first after 34  games. Jordan Hill could also be back, a player who injured his neck against the Wolves. In order to avoid another situation like against the Cavs, Shawne Williams was signed, a player who started this season for them.


Regardless of their impressive performance in Cleveland, it is hard to expect that Lakers have a viable chance, even against a team like the 76ers, who won the first head-to-head this season by 111-104, as they were lead by Young with 25 points, while hill got 18 on the other end. 

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