Danny Green #14 of the Philadelphia 76ers reacts to his foul during the fourth quarter in a 109-101 win over the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on March 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. Harry How/Getty Images/
Danny Green shot 8-for-12 from 3-point range and scored 28 points to help the visiting Philadelphia 76ers to a 109-101 win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.
Green was awarded the NBA championship ring that he won with the Lakers last season before the game.
👌 8 threes for Danny Green! 👌@DGreen_14 puts up 28 PTS at Staples Center, pacing the @sixers' 4th straight W! #HereTheyCome pic.twitter.com/Adk354SowX
— NBA (@NBA) March 26, 2021
Seth Curry returned after missing the past three games with a sprained left ankle and scored 19 points, and Tobias Harris finished with 17 points for Philadelphia, which has won 10 of 11 to remain atop the Eastern Conference standings.
Kyle Kuzma had 25 points and nine rebounds, Dennis Schroder finished with 20 points and 11 assists, and Montrezl Harrell scored 20 off the bench for the Lakers, who have lost four in a row to match their longest losing streak of the season.
The Lakers continued to be without their top two scorers and rebounders.
LeBron James missed his third straight game with a high ankle sprain, and Anthony Davis has been sidelined since mid-February with a calf strain.
The 76ers led by 18 at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Lakers chipped away and cut the deficit to single digits with 5:06 left.
Kuzma made 1-of-2 free throws with 51.4 seconds left to make it a three-point game, but Green nailed a 3-pointer on the next possession to make it 107-101 with 30.6 seconds remaining.
After the Lakers scored the final nine points of the first half to tie the score at 54-54, the 76ers scored the first six points of the second half to move out to a 60-54 lead.
"It was good to see my guys, man… Obviously a special night for me."
Danny Green caught up with @ReggieMillerTNT after the Sixers' win. pic.twitter.com/VwgYgv1AXm
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) March 26, 2021
Green, who the Lakers traded in November to Oklahoma City for Schroder, gave Philadelphia its first double-digit lead when he sank a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 68-58 with 8:26 left in the third quarter.
The 76ers continued to add to their lead in the third quarter, expanding it to 18 points entering the fourth.
The 76ers played their seventh straight game without leading scorer and rebounder Joel Embiid (left knee injury).
The other center on the roster, Dwight Howard, was ejected at the start of the second quarter after receiving back-to-back technical fouls. Howard was also awarded the NBA championship ring he won with the Lakers last season.