Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Nearing the end of his second 10-day contract with the Lakers, Jabari Brown made a strong bid to remain in Los Angeles for the remainder of the season.
Brown scored a career-high 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting and had a key steal in overtime to help the Lakers earn a 113-111 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Lakers snapped their two-game skid with 26 points and 11 assists from Jordan Clarkson, 20 points from Wayne Ellington and Ryan Kelly totaling 16 points and seven boards.
Nerlens Noel bolstered his case for Rookie of the Year with 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Sixers, who lost their third straight game. Isaiah Canaan finished with 18 points off the bench and Ish Smith tallied 17.
The 76ers led by one in overtime before Ellington's layup, courtesy of a Brown assist. At the other end, Brown stole the ball and drove down the floor for a layup, and Los Angeles did not trail again.
Down six, Philadelphia got two buckets from Noel, and he went to the free- throw line with a chance to tie the game. He missed both attempts, but Hollis Thompson's offensive rebound gave the Sixers life.
"He wants the ball," said Sixers coach Brett Brown. "I'm at a stage where I've got confidence that he's going to step up and not be intimidated by the moment."
Noel tied the game out of a timeout, but Clarkson's layup after a baseline cut toward the basket gave the Lakers the lead with a second left. Robert Covington could not hit the desperation 3 as the buzzer sounded.
"He's not afraid of the moment," Los Angeles coach Byron Scott said. "You've got to like to that."
The Lakers held a persistent lead in the third quarter as the Sixers shot just 32 percent, and Brown's 3 in the closing seconds put LA up 76-71 heading into the fourth.
Los Angeles held that five-point lead early in the final period before Thomas Robinson scored the next five points to even the score. After he converted a three-point play on a powerful slam dunk, he stole the ball and assisted Henry Sims' layup that gave the 76ers their first lead in the second half.
They led by eight when Covington hit a triple with 5:19 to play, but Ellington answered immediately with a 3 of his own. The Lakers chipped away at their deficit, and Clarkson hit four free throws in the final 30 seconds to keep the game tied and send it to an extra session.
The 76ers never trailed in the first quarter and led 28-17 after one. They were up by 12 in the second quarter, but a 13-1 run Los Angeles run, starting with a Brown 3 and finished by Brown's three-point play, tied the score. The Lakers took a 51-50 lead into the break.
Game Notes
Los Angeles improved to 3-11 in the second games of back-to-back sets, and Philadelphia fell to 6-14 ... Lakers guard Jeremy Lin missed his second straight game with an illness ... Los Angeles leads the league with nine overtime games, and it has won six of them ... The Lakers blocked 10 shots.
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