Lakers snap eight-game losing streak with 100-89 win over 76ers

For a while they lost their way.

Friday night’s 100-89 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers marked a step toward what the Lakers want to be. It happened just as soon as they paused to remind themselves that wins weren’t everything, that their process mattered more.

Against a team that also touts its process, the Lakers ended their eight-game losing streak. On the backs of two of their recent lottery picks, the Lakers notched their first win in December.

“We’re past it,” forward Larry Nance Jr. said. “We’re off the slide. We’ve got a winning streak going, so let’s keep it going.”

D’Angelo Russell, the second overall pick in the 2015 draft, scored 15 points, seven of them in the game’s first two minutes. Julius Randle, the seventh overall pick in 2014, scored 25 points in 33 minutes, making 10 of 13 shots, and had nine rebounds, four assists and three steals, along with five turnovers.

“We need Ju to be like that,” Lakers guard Nick Young said. “We were harping on that before the game. I told him to turn into hulk smash. He just went to work.”

Guard Lou Williams had 18 points off the bench, and Young scored 15. With the win, the Lakers improved to 11-18, while the 76ers fell to 6-20, worst in the Eastern Conference.

The Lakers led for the entire game, and had 27 fastbreak points to the 76ers’ eight. Philadelphia didn’t shoot well early, while the Lakers had the kind of fast start they’ve often lacked this season. They began the game with a 13-0 run. Philadelphia made only 31.8% of its shots in the first quarter, setting a tone for the rest of the game.

“Want to give a lot of credit to D’Angelo tonight, how he started the game,” Williams said. “He started with a lot of aggression. He led by example,. and a lot of guys followed his lead.”

At halftime, the Lakers led by 13 points. They stretched that to 22 in the third quarter, before the 76ers began to shrink their deficit, taking advantage of Lakers turnovers. Three of the Lakers’ six third-quarter turnovers came in the final three minutes. That helped Philadelphia go on a 9-0 run, cutting the Lakers’ lead to 10 going into the fourth quarter.

Then Nance happened.

His fourth quarter included six rebounds, a blocked shot and an assist in the paint to center Timofey Mozgov. After the game, Lakers Coach Luke Walton told Nance it was the best four-point performance he’d seen in a while.

“Pressuring the ball, hands in the passing lanes, deflections,” said Nance, who finished with 11 rebounds, two blocked shots and a steal. “Stuff like that doesn’t show up [in the box score], setting good screens. I don’t and I’ve never worried about whether the box score looks good or not. If my coaches are happy, my teammates are happy with the way I played, I’m happy.”

The 76ers were the second consecutive Lakers opponent that entered the game with just six wins, following the Brooklyn Nets. But Brooklyn outworked the Lakers on Wednesday night, handing them their eighth consecutive loss.

When they traveled to Philadelphia the next day, they reminded each other that they weren’t playing like they knew they could — like they had during a surprising 10-10 start to the season. They weren’t sharing the ball well anymore, they were turning it over too much, and their defense was giving up way too much.

In the third game of a seven-game trip, the Lakers worked to rediscover themselves. They’ll need to continue that Saturday night, when they face the defending NBA champion Cavaliers in Cleveland.

“That’s the best we’ve looked since we started getting guys back from the injuries,” said Walton, whose team has been without starting guards Russell and Young, backup center Tarik Black and backup point guard Jose Calderon for significant stretches. “Hopefully we can build on that. We’ve got an extremely tough game in less than 24 hours against Cleveland. Hopefully it’s something we can build on and keep this momentum going on this road trip.”