NBA: Lakers lose their 6th straight game, 76ers clinch playoff place

(Basketball news) The Los Angeles season went from bad to worse as they lost 129-118 against the Denver Nuggets, a loss which has ultimately seen them drop out of the play in position as well. For the Nuggets, Nikola Jokic had 38 points, 18 rebounds and six assists as Will Barton scored 25 points and Aaron Gordon added 24 points and eight rebounds. For the Lakers, Anthony Davis had 28 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as Russell Westbrook added 27 points and Carmelo Anthony had 17. LeBron James was out of this match with a sprained left ankle. With this result the Nuggets have almost sealed their playoff berth as their record stands at 47-32 and currently are 5th in the Western Conference standings.

''Very satisfying, knowing the situation, four games to go (when) you've got people right behind you, pushing you,'' Denver coach Michael Malone said. ''This was an important road win. We've been a great road team all regular season long. … When it mattered most, we were able to get stops.''

''I think it's a really important win for us,'' Jokic said. ''I'm just glad that we're winning. If we're playing bad and we're winning, that's the most important thing. I think it was really collective play that we did together, but hopefully we can keep it up to separate further and be even better.''

''We don't worry about the math,'' coach Frank Vogel said. ''We worry about the next game. Learn the lessons from this game, take them to the next game and hopefully get a win against Phoenix (on Tuesday).''

''We didn't expect to only have 21 games together, but that's been all year,'' Davis said. ''The times we were together, we looked good. . That being said, we still have enough (players) to play a basketball game. We will continue to fight this way, give ourselves a chance and see what happens.''

The Philadelphia 76ers secured a playoff position as they won 112-108 against the Cleveland Cavaliers. For the Sixers, Embiid scored 44 points and made 20 trips to the free throw line and added 17 rebounds and James Harden had 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in his second triple-double with Philadelphia. For the Cavs, Darius Garland scored 23 and Caris LeVert and Lamar Stevens had 18 apiece. With this result the Sixers improved their record to 48-30 and currently stand 4th in the Western Conference and as for the Cavs they stayed in 7th with a record of 43-36.

''That game was taken from us,'' Bickerstaff said. ''We deserved to win it.''

''If it happens, great,'' he said of winning his first MVP. ''If it doesn't, I don't know what I have to do. I'll feel like they hate me. I feel like the standard for guys in Philly or for me is different than everyone else.''

''The one thing you can't defend is the free throw line and that's absurd,'' Bickerstaff said, referring to the Sixers' 42 attempted foul shots. ''Our guys deserved way better than they got tonight.

''They're great players and they understand how to play through the rules,'' he said of Philly's All-Stars. ''They know how to manipulate the rules. This is no knock or disrespect to those guys. But the game has to be consistent on both ends of the floor. We were searching for that consistency and we never found it.''

''I get to witness his greatness every night,'' Harden said. ''Obviously, his offensive numbers tonight are self-explanatory. Defensively, he was very active blocking shots, changing shots and clogging the paint up was key.''

Also read: NBA: Bucks edge out the Nets as Lakers drop to 11th in the west

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