Instant observations: Sixers suffer ANOTHER third quarter collapse in loss to Lakers

The Sixers turned in another third-quarter meltdown to waste a good Joel Embiid performance, falling 119-115 to the Los Angeles Lakers in infuriating fashion.

Here’s what I saw.

Third quarter meltdown, we meet again

Joel Embiid had just an okay game against the Clippers in Philadelphia’s barnstorming win on Monday, sitting out the second half of a back-to-back against Golden State the next night. It felt a little bit like he owed these guys something, if for no other reason than having the freshest pair of legs. And boy, did he deliver on that, sparking the Sixers early while playing a do-it-all hub on offense for a team that struggled to make shots for most of the night.

With the Lakers down Jaxson Hayes thanks to his mascot-related suspension — yes, he really is that big of a clown — DeAndre Ayton was the only guy close to like-sized that L.A. could throw at him. But it didn’t especially matter, outside of a few offensive rebounds Ayton pulled down at his expense. Ayton’s on-again, off-again effort is a bad matchup for an opponent who will take any bit of space and rise into a midrange jumper, and Embiid was able to get the shot going within the first five minutes of the game. When that happens, opponents are in jail trying to guard him, as it opens up opportunities to punish reach-ins and drive by jumpy defenders.

Outside of Ayton, the Lakers mixed up coverages and the defender primarily tasked with guarding Embiid. From Jarred Vanderbilt to Maxi Kleber and others across the spectrum, the main theme was a big size advantage for Embiid. On some nights, that might mean deep post catches and a free-throw parade, but with Embiid often operating from the middle of a zone, it meant a lot of jumpers his man could never get close enough to contest. One little jab step, one little body language cue, and the Lakers were falling all over themselves to stay with him, with Embiid rising into lightly-contested shots for the entire first half. 20 easy points at halftime, thank you very much.

Embiid had some sloppiness with the handle early, but he was killing the Lakers as a playmaker for others, too, punctuating his first half with an outstanding play: Embiid faked a handoff attempt to Tyrese Maxey, drove downhill into the space the Lakers left vacated, and as the defense collapsed on him in the paint, he released the ball to Dominick Barlow for an easy bucket, sending the Sixers into halftime on a high note.

Everything was rolling along until, you guessed it, the third quarter hit. I cannot believe we are this far into the season and still treating the quarter after halftime as an unsolvable Sphinx riddle for the Sixers to solve. Change the opponent, the venue, the players on the floor, nothing really matters. They will find a way to stink it up all the same.

There was a decided lack of seriousness from the Sixers after they surged to a double-digit lead early in the third, allowing the Lakers to get back into the game with seven turnovers in a single quarter. They were mostly in cruise control until about the halfway point of the third, and then the wheels came off. Nurse resisted turning to his bench as the Sixers held onto a small but mildly comfortable lead, and it all came crashing down in the end-of-quarter stretch, with Maxey battling foul trouble and Embiid resting on the bench.

Enter Quentin Grimes, a mystifying player to watch. His first half was filled with genuinely awesome moments, with Grimes best understanding what needs to be done when Austin Reaves is on the floor. Drawing him in isolation repeatedly, Grimes went right by him to the rim on several different occasions, making Reaves work as he tore up the Sixers on the other end. He also put down his second highlight dunk of the week with a hellacious throwdown over Jake LaRavia, who I presume had a family.

TELL THEM DON’T JUMP, Q!!! 💥🤯pic.twitter.com/K78SL0bJGp

— PHLY Sixers (@PHLY_Sixers) February 6, 2026

The second half was what we will charitably refer to as an adventure. When Grimes checked into the game for his end-of-third minutes, the game almost immediately flipped in the wrong direction. He had a brutal turnover, a bad foul, and a miscommunication with VJ Edgecombe in quick succession, and the Lakers were surging. His first good play of that stretch, a steal near halfcourt, was nearly botched before order was restored, only for Kelly Oubre to launch a tightly-contested three with close to 20 seconds left on the shot clock. Not the time or the place, particularly when you’re 2/7 at the time, Mr. Oubre.

This was the first stretch of basketball over the last week where I felt they desperately needed Paul George. In those backup lineups where they try to buy rest for Embiid and Maxey, it tends to be George who emerges as a cooler head, attacking in isolation or offering spacing for VJ Edgecombe to attack in. With George in street clothes, we were back to early-season Sixers hoops, with the Edgecombe/Grimes/Watford/Oubre combo dying for some spacing, plus decision-making, and savvy.

By the time the fourth quarter started and Embiid was back, this snowball was already rolling downhill. The Sixers had a nightmare of a time guarding Austin Reaves the whole night, and he burned the house down to open the fourth, as the Laker crowd roared in delight to contribute to the emotional high. Searching for answers, the Sixers tried zone and some small looks in the fourth, but they were chasing a game that had gotten away from them, wiping away what had been a strong 2.5 quarters to open the game.

What the hell was that?

Down two points with 27 seconds left, the Sixers apparently decided they would trap late and concede a basket instead of either defending the play straight up or fouling to play the back-and-forth game. On the ensuing possession with 12 seconds left, Maxey took a ridiculous foul-baiting three and lost them the opportunity for even a chance to tie or win the game.

One of the dumbest sequences in Sixers history, straight up.

Not good enough from the guards

VJ Edgecombe is what I would affectionately refer to as an all-action player, someone who rarely rests on his laurels who helps you win games no matter what the moment requires. Those guys can occasionally cross the line and go careening into the opponent, trying too hard to impact the game while it boomerangs back on them. But he is a rare breed of rookie, constantly playing with 100 percent effort while minimizing his wild moments on both ends of the floor.

In fact, Edgecombe often cleans up craziness from other players. Joel Embiid had the rare opportunity to throw him a lob on the break, tossing the ensuing pass so high that two VJ Edgecombes stacked on top of one another in a trenchcoat probably wouldn’t have reached the ball. But after making the attempt to meet it at the summit, Edgecombe collected himself quickly and saved it from going out of bounds, ultimately earning the Sixers an extra possession that ended with an Embiid midrange make. These plays are a constant in the Edgecombe experience.

The Lakers tried to dare the Sixers into beating them with the three-ball with a fair amount of zone, and Edgecombe was the only guy making outside shots to potentially get them out of it. He is slowly starting to figure out the happy medium on the break, darting through traffic for layups and dunks or slowing down to find an open shooter if those easy opportunities aren’t there. Edgecombe was one of their few solid options defending Austin Reaves, who gave L.A. a big lift off the bench, ripping him on a first-half possession before the Sixers got out and scored on the break.

At least, that was the case for the first half, because Edgecombe ran into a wall and struggled mightily in winning time for Philadelphia. He was a little too much gas without brakes, throwing up some wild attempts inside the arc with no whistles to save him. And even after he made a gigantic steal and hit a three and drew them within three, he and Grimes combined for one of the worst fouls of the season, fouling down three with 35 seconds left when a normal defensive possession would have sufficed.

But I was much more disappointed in Tyrese Maxey, who had an impactful passing game but a dire attacking performance, letting the Lakers dissuade him from getting past the initial defensive coverage while jacking missed three after missed three on stepback jumpers. Between true zone coverage and some extra bodies in the paint sagging off of questionable shooters, Maxey relied far too much on his jumper on a night where he had nothing going from deep.

Could the Sixers have been more purposeful with their offense to get him rolling? I think so, yes. First play of the game, they ran him off of an Iverson cut to get him a look closer to the basket, and rarely turned to off-ball action to get him looks the rest of the night.

At least Barlow has a real contract?

If not for the lack of incoming players at the trade deadline, we’d have a real opportunity to celebrate Dominick Barlow, who is one of the great organizational success stories of the last two years. Signed to a standard deal on Thursday evening, Barlow rose quickly from an end-of-bench afterthought to an essential piece of this Sixers team.

It has been a big road trip for Barlow, who brought his standard brand of energy and athleticism to the arena against L.A. One of the high notes of a solid Sixers first half was an end-to-end sequence from Barlow, who came from the weakside to block Rui Hachimura on a deep catch before streaking to the other end, finishing with style for two points after outrunning the entire Lakers team in transition.

His night was defined by work in and around the dunker spot, with Barlow catching drop-off after drop-off from every available passer.

Other notes

— In games where an opponent gets a whistle that seems ultra skewed against one team, my dad likes to shout to no one in particular, “It’s like playing the Globetrotters!” It certainly felt like the Harlem Lakers were on the floor on Thursday night.

(All that said, the officials did not win this game for the Lakers. The Sixers happily gave this game away themselves. But Jenna Schroeder is the worst ref in the league and I don’t even think it’s close.)

— That was perhaps the worst Oubre game of his Sixers tenure and a version of him I thought he largely left behind in Charlotte. Embarrassing shot selection, miserable off-ball defense, every negative trait in his profile on full display all at once.