Another miserable night in a miserable season as the Sixers lose to the Lakers

Different star alone, same result.

The Sixers ended their West Coast game with another lopsided loss, falling 116-106 to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night. They are now 1-7.

A 31-point performance from Anthony Davis and a 20-point triple-double from LeBron James were too much for this undermanned team.

Jared McCain led the Sixers with 18 points. He shot 6 of 17 from the floor and 4 of 9 from behind the three-point line. Guerschon Yabusele and Andre Drummond each finished 14th.

Paul George shot just 4 of 13 and 0 of 6 from three. He also had four rebounds and eight assists in just over 24 minutes of play.

Bronny James played the final 1:28 of the game.

Here are some thoughts on the buzzer.

First quarter

• If Andre Drummond is going to have trouble guarding AD, that's fine, that's a tough question. If he gets blocked by Davis once or twice, it will happen again. However, open shots at the rim cannot be missed. His 0-of-3 start compounded their problems in the race. The Lakers also started well on the perimeter, making five of their first six three-pointers of the game.
• Guerschon Yabusele continues to do well in the middle, but the small lineups around him highlight this problem throughout the team. The backcourt of Jared McCain and Kyle Lowry got a little bigger when Reggie Jackson arrived, but that didn't last long. Jackson got off to a 1-of-4 start.
• KJ Martin showed a really good fight at the rim early. He also scored (and made) only his second three-pointer of the season. Yabusele and Martin each had five in the first quarter while the Sixers trailed by seven.

• Kudos to KJ for specifically addressing this guy.

Second quarter

• McCain didn't start the quarter well, catching his own airball for a run, but he helped turn things around by stopping a few shots. He was 2 of 4 from deep in the half, one of those who came in the no-dip variety.
• In terms of points, George had a quiet start. Due to his limited playing time, he only played 12 minutes in the first half. He was able to sit back a bit and score five assists as the role players got going. They went on a 10-2 run to get back into the game as George came into the game more strongly.

• Drummond has done a good job of getting offensive rebounds, but him getting beat up on the glass on the other end is a problem right now. An ugly final minute of the half saw the Lakers go back to within eight.

Third quarter

• After some nice attacks from George and Kelly Oubre Jr., the offense slowed down again and had a few drives. The dribble handoffs on the sideline have a lot more chances with George there, but there's not much else going on at the moment.
• As shorthanded as they are right now, Reggie Jackson probably shouldn't still be out there. It's true that he hasn't had much yardage, but it feels like most of his misses this season have been either airballs or just reaching the front rim. There really hasn't been anyone to take over his dribbling.
• This was the Sixers' toughest quarter this season, but they are sticking to their plan of only playing George four minutes even with Maxey out. Despite the strong efforts of McCain and KJ Martin, things once again spiraled out of control. While they ended the quarter down by 15, Yabusele ended it with a plus.

Fourth quarter

• George hitting McCain for a third transition was the only thing that wasn't completely terrible early in this game. There have been several games so far where the Sixers have gone straight at shot blockers without a plan, and that happened tonight. The Lakers had three different players with at least three blocks.
• A small positive aspect of the evening is that Caleb Martin finally saw some three-point shots fall. He finished the season 3 of 4 after coming into tonight's game having made just four three-pointers all season.
• Checking out with just over three minutes left felt strange, but for George it was the right decision at the moment. Another small positive was some of the passes he threw en route to his eight assists – not something he's known for.

• At least they will play at normal times again. The Sixers return home to take on the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.