LOS ANGELES _ Anthony Davis sat down with a little more than a minute left in the Los Angeles Lakers' contest against the Philadelphia 76ers, but he didn't stay on the bench for long. He got up, circled his arms around teammates and watched as his team finished a game he had put away.
Davis scored 37 points in the Lakers' 120-107 win over the 76ers, who were missing three starters including stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, knocking down further a team once thought to be an NBA Finals contender.
Davis added 13 rebounds, four steals and two blocks. LeBron James had 22 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds. Glenn Robinson III accounted for 25 of the 76ers' 55 points off the bench.
Philadelphia (37-25) entered Tuesday night tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference and fell to sixth, a half-game behind Indiana. The Lakers, meanwhile, strengthened their position atop the West, improving to 47-13.
The Lakers gave up 35 points in the first quarter, just as they did in a 108-91 loss at Philadelphia on Jan. 25. Davis scored eight points in the period, James scored five and the 76ers got eight points out of Tobias Harris.
The second quarter saw the 76ers extend their lead to 13 on a three-pointer by Robinson.
From there the Lakers completely turned the game around. Davis scored 18 points in the final eight minutes of the half, burying Philadelphia in an avalanche of dunks. Davis had two steals in the second quarter and a plus/minus rating of 24. In all, the Lakers scored 37 points in the quarter.
With an 11-point lead, they opened the third quarter on an 8-0 run, capped with a deep three from James as he pulled up at the edge of the Lakers logo covering center court _ officially 36 feet away from the basket. Davis, Danny Green and JaVale McGee walked over to the spot on the floor from which James released his shot and leaned over as if to examine it.
During the fourth quarter, Philadelphia's Shake Milton tried to pass the ball and James grabbed it out of the air, ran down the court and electrified the Staples Center crowd with a dunk.
The Lakers entered the game with a talent advantage and overpowered the 76ers.
