Five takeaways from the Lakers’ 101-87 win over the Philadelphia 76ers

The Lakers (18-50) defeated the Philadelphia 76ers (17-53) on Sunday night. Here are five takeaways from their 101-87 win at Staples Center.

1. Jeremy Lin had arguably his best game of the season, certainly his highest-scoring one, with 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting. Lin hit seven of eight free-throw attempts, dished five assists and collected five rebounds.

“I thought he was great,” said Coach Byron Scott. “I thought he played extremely well. He made great decisions. On the offensive end, he got guys involved. He was aggressive. Defensively, he was where he was supposed to be.”

Sixers Coach Brett Brown wasn’t happy about the number of points his team surrendered to Lin and the Lakers.

“That’s not who we are. On the defensive side, to give up 60 points in the second half is what bothers me the most,” he said. “We tried to double-team with 7 or 6 1/2 minutes left and he still found ways to score.

“We tried multiple people on him. We tried to get length on him. We tried to get quickness on him and we tried to blitz him. We searched to find ways to defend him and we struggled all night.”

2. Ed Davis actual hurt his season percentage with a four-of-eight performance, finishing with eight points and 11 rebounds, along with four blocks.

Davis, who helped changed the game’s momentum, is shooting 60.8% from the field this season -- only eight shots short of the qualifying mark for league leaders. Once he hits the minimum number of shot attempts, he’ll stand second in the NBA to the Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan (70.9%).

3. The Lakers will play their next five games on the road, where they’re just 7-26 this season.

“I think we just have to have good starts,” said rookie Jabari Brown. “It’s tough to have bad halves on the road, with the [opposing] team having the crowd behind them, and expect to come back.”

Brown’s second 10-day contract expires a week from Monday, after the Lakers finish their trip in Philadelphia with a rematch against the 76ers.

The team will have to decide whether to re-sign Brown for the final nine games, or let him go to free agency.

Brown scored 10 points Sunday against Philadelphia with a career-high four assists. Over his first four NBA games, Brown totaled three assists.

4. Sixers forward-center Nerlens Noel was briefly injured in the second half, but was able to continue playing.

“I just jumped up and the ball got smacked out of his [Tarik Black’s] hand and went flying into my eye,” said Noel. “I was a little dizzy for a little bit, but it feels a little better now.”

Noel is one of the NBA’s top rookies this season, a short list that includes Jordan Clarkson.

The odds-on favorite to win rookie of the year is Andrew Wiggins of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

5. The Lakers continue to hold the fourth-worst record in the NBA, important for positioning in the draft lottery. If the Lakers do not finish with a top-five selection, the pick will go to the Philadelphia 76ers (via the Phoenix Suns) -- which is why the win Sunday night could be costly.

The Lakers are “behind” the 76ers, Minnesota Timberwolves (15-54) and New York Knicks (14-56). The closest two teams to the Lakers in the standings are the Orlando Magic (22-50) and Sacramento Kings (24-45). The Lakers are likely to hold onto at least the fourth position in the lottery, with 14 to play.

The team still plays the Timberwolves twice, and the 76ers next week. The Knicks and 76ers still play each other as well. The only way the Lakers can 100% guarantee themselves a top-five pick is to finish with the first- or second-worst records in the NBA. At third, their odds are still high at 96.0%, but in their current fourth position, it’s a less comfortable 83.8%.

Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.