A last-second loss kept the Los Angeles Lakers from extending their season-high winning streak and tarnished their perfect road record. The Lakers hope to avoid faltering again on Wednesday night, when they continue their three-game road trip against the Philadelphia 76ers. Los Angeles (14-2, 10-6 ATS) won its first seven games of 2008-09 before falling to Detroit on Nov. 14. The Lakers then built another seven-game run prior to an improbable 118-117 defeat at Indiana on Tuesday.The Lakers closed out the third quarter on a 17-0 run to take a 101-86 lead into the final 12 minutes. Kobe Bryant gave Los Angeles a 117-116 advantage with 58.4 seconds left, but his errant shot late allowed Indiana one more possession. Troy Murphy tipped in the final shot, which was confirmed after a review. The shocking defeat dropped the Lakers to 35-20 ATS on the road the last two years.
“There was some luck involved, but that’s the way basketball is if you don’t take care of business,” said Lakers coach Phil Jackson, whose team dropped to 5-1 and 4-2 ATS on the road this season. “They got some energy going to the hoop and the right thing happened for them.”
Los Angeles fell short of matching its franchise-best 16-1 start in 2001-02 despite another outstanding effort from Bryant. The league’s reigning MVP finished with 28 points to become the second-fastest player in league history to reach 22,000 for his career. Wilt Chamberlain was one day younger than Bryant when he reached that milestone.
Bryant has averaged 28.7 points over his last three games, and 23.0 in 22 career games versus Philadelphia (8-10, 7-11 ATS). He totaled 34 points on 37.9 percent (11-for-29) shooting as the Lakers swept last season’s series. Pau Gasol had 20 points and Andrew Bynum had 17 on Tuesday for the Lakers, who are 10-2 (9-3 ATS) as visitors since losing back-to-back road contests March 14-16.
The Lakers have won and covered the spread in four of their last five versus the 76ers, but playing in Philadelphia has been a problem recently. They had dropped seven straight there (1-6 ATS) before a 106-101 victory on Dec. 21 as Bynum scored 24 and Lamar Odom and Bryant each added 21. L.A. is 27-14 ATS against teams with losing record. Los Angeles has allowed just 95.6 points per contest, but gave up at least 100 for the fifth time in 2008-09 against the Pacers.
Philadelphia surpassed 100 points for the first time in eight contests on Tuesday, beating the Bulls 103-95 in Chicago. Andre Miller was just 9-of-26 from the field, but scored a season-high 28 to help the 76ers split the home-and-home set. Andre Iguodala added a season-best 25 points and Elton Brand had 22 and 14 rebounds for the 76ers, who ended a season-high four-game slide.
After opponents shot 51.3 percent and converted 44.9 percent of their attempts from 3-point range during the losing streak, the 76ers held Chicago to 40.2 percent shooting and 1-for-8 from beyond the arc. The Sixers are 31-17 ATS when playing on back-to-back days over the last three seasons.
“I thought our defensive game was really good,” coach Maurice Cheeks told the 76ers’ official Web site. “And we continued to push the ball throughout the game. That’s our game.”
Sportsbook.com is inclined to believe it’s more the Lakers game, establishing them as 7.5-point favorites, with a total of 2005. Kobe and company are 23-8 ATS in road games after a combined score of 215 points or more. Philly is 1-8 ATS versus good defensive teams holding teams to 43 or lower percent shooting. Totals players be very aware the Lakers are 11-2 OVER after a loss by six points or less over, with average score total 217.
This contest will be seen in local markets starting at 7:05 Eastern, with L.A. 23-8 ATS versus up-tempo teams averaging 83 or more shots a game.
StatFox Power Line – Lakers by 9
Laura Medina Stats writer, contributed to this article.
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