Anthony Davis described the Lakers first quarter defence as "terrible", but it mattered little, as the Los Angeles Lakers ran away with a 120-107 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Staples Center was a highlight factory in this one, so let's jump straight into the takeaways from another Lakers home win and another Sixers road loss.
Big two dominant once again
After missing the Lakers win in New Orleans, Anthony Davis returned to the lineup and so did the incredible dominance of the superstar duo.
Physically overwhelming the Sixers on both ends of the floor, the duo combined for 59 points, 20 rebounds, 16 assists, five steals and four blocks.
A 26-point first half from Davis led into a 10-point third quarter from James as the Sixers never truly threatened in the second half.
Second quarter surge breaks game open
Despite being severely shorthanded, the Sixers made an extremely positive start to this contest. In fact, an Alec Burks free-throw with 7:05 left in the half gave Philadelphia a 45-35 lead.
What followed was a 30-9 Lakers run to end the half, giving the home team an 11-point lead as an avalanche of scoring mixed with suffocating defence turned the game on it's head.
AD out here performing magic tricks with his handles 🎩🐇
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 4, 2020
(📺: @SpectrumSN ) pic.twitter.com/A5hn9CxRbn
16 of those 30 points came from Anthony Davis, as he poured in those 26 first half points.
Davis scored from all areas in the run, crossing up his Sixers opponent for nifty finishes on one possession, before stepping out behind the arc and hitting nothing but net on another.
It was an absolute clinic from the 26-year-old, and a scary reminder of how dangerous this Lakers team is in full flight.
LeBron range?
In recent times we have spoke about players shooting from 'Steph range' or 'Dame range', but over the last two games LeBron James has made shooting from the logo 'LeBron range'.
Last time out against New Orelans, James lit up the highlight reels by pulling up from just beyond half court to hit nothing but net in response to a Zion Williamson dunk. On this night James would pull up in transition for an early shot clock bomb from the Lakers logo at Staples Center.
The guys had to inspect that spot after LeBron drained it from the logo 🤯😂
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 4, 2020
(📺: @SpectrumSN ) pic.twitter.com/AU7LdpUsco
Once again, it would hit nothing but net, sending the packed arena into a frenzy as the Lakers opened up a 73-54 lead with 10:54 left in the third.
James was connecting on 35 percent of his career-high 6.3 attempts per game from beyond the 3-point line coming in to tonight's game.
Philadelphia's travel woes continue
Admittedly, it's hard to criticise the Sixers too much for losing a game on the road against the best team in the West without Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Josh Richardson, but nonetheless, Philadelphia's road record continues to be an amazing talking point.
The Sixers are now 9-23 away from home including nine straight losses to now sit in the sixth seed in the East, which would place them in a first-round matchup with the Boston Celtics if the season were to end today.
There are only two teams in the entire NBA with more road losses than Philadelphia – the Golden State Warriors (7-24) and the Atlanta Hawks (6-25).
Injuries or not, that is an incredibly alarming number for a team who came into the season --and still pledges to have-- championship aspirations.
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