Scores for LeBron, Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves in Lakers win over Sixers

On Friday, the Lakers needed nothing more than a win. While it wasn’t necessarily a must-win, it was close to a can’t-lose game.

After a stunning road trip and replacing D’Angelo Russell before the game, things could have really gone downhill with a loss.

Instead, the Lakers came out with a very serious approach from the start, annihilating the Sixers early and ending any doubts in the third after a small comeback from Philly in the second quarter.

Now if the Lakers could play a depleted team at home in every game.

Oh, let’s immerse ourselves in victory. As always, grades are based on each player’s expectations. The grade “B” represents the average performance of that player.

Anthony Davis

36 minutes, 31 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 blocks, 11-20 FG, 2-3 3PT, 7-8 FT, +20

The ADMVP candidacy is real and it’s time to shift gears. Yes, this particular game was against an undermanned Sixers team, but it was an important game for the Lakers for the reasons stated above.

This is clearly AD’s team now. And boy, is he already making his mark on this season.

Grade: A

Rui Hachimura

33 minutes, 9 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 3-8 FG, 3-6 3PT, -4

It wasn’t a great night from Rui, but the fact that he knocked down three three-point shots was nice. I’m going to rate him even higher because I can’t imagine him being fully healthy again.

He struggled underneath, even though he was completely undersized against Andre Drummond. But the willingness to get into the paint and fight under the rim is encouraging.

Grade: B-

LeBron James

34 minutes, 21 points, 12 rebounds, 13 assists, 3 blocks, 9-14 FG, 2-4 3PT, 1-1 FT, +12

It was a pretty slow first half for LeBron, but he turned things up in the second half and completely controlled the game. It was one of those “hot” LeBron games where he casually scores a 20-point triple-double.

I thought it was a good game from him defensively too, both on the boards and blocking some shots.

Grade: A-

Cam Reddish

28 minutes, 3 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1-1 FG, 1-1 3PT, -6

All in all, this is a very Cam Reddish game. He was good defensively, knocking down a 3-pointer, and the Lakers were worse with him on the court.

In keeping with the last point, I think he does other things well besides his defense. For example, he is better at rebounding than most other Lakers guards.

Cam is a useful player when he stays healthy and makes 3-point shots. He hasn’t done any of these things consistently in his career.

For Jarred Vanderbilt, it feels like a placeholder spot in the starting lineup. Or D’Angelo Russell when he starts shooting again.

Grade: B

Austin Reaves

30 minutes, 20 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 block, 7-13 FG, 6-10 3PT, +14

It was really nice to see Reaves, who had shot 6-for-29 from distance in his last four games, get back to his form from distance. The challenge for him now should be consistency. Less alternating good and bad stretches and instead just a few regular good 3-point shots.

Grade: A

Jaxson Hayes

16 minutes, 8 points, 2 rebounds, 4 blocks, 3-4 FG, 2-2 FT, +0

Only Hayes, as a center, could somehow manage more blocks than rebounds. But I won’t disparage him too much, as I’ll happily accept a four-block performance from him whenever I can get it.

The Lakers’ two big lineups were also quite successful today.

Grade: B

D’Angelo Russell

25 minutes, 18 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 7-12 FG, 2-4 3PT, 2-3 FT, +13

A good response to being on the bench is to put together probably the best game of the season. It wasn’t a night where he caught fire from a distance either. The most pleasant surprise was his attack on the rim.

Is that sustainable? Probably not. Most of his placements on Friday were unorthodox, to say the least.

Grade: A

Gabe Vincent

16 minutes, 2 points, 1-2 FG, 0-1 3PT, +4

What else is there to say about Vincent at this point? If his role doesn’t change and it doesn’t look like it, he won’t be more productive.

I understand the idea of ​​splitting up D’Lo and Reaves and using a more defensive guard. I actually think an argument could have been made for starting Vincent and using him on the ball more often, as our own Darius Soriano argued.

But if that’s all you get from Vincent, then JJ Redick should probably just play Max Christie, who has more potential.

Grade: D

Dalton Knecht

16 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1-8 FG, 0-5 3PT, +17

Maybe it’s because I give him the benefit of the doubt, but actually Knecht didn’t discourage me that much on Friday. He did a lot of things right on offense, except for the part where he took the shots. And if there’s one aspect of his game that I’m not concerned about with Knecht’s game, it’s his shooting.

Grade: C+

JJ Redick

Benching D’Angelo Russell was a bold decision, but one that had short-term benefits. Is it sustainable in the long term? Time will tell.

You also can’t give him enough credit for creating an offense where AD put up MVP numbers.

Grade: A-

Inactive on Friday: Quincy Olivari, Armel Traore, Jarred Vanderbilt, Christian Wood

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.