LOS ANGELES _ The Philadelphia 76ers did a horrible thing Sunday night: They defeated the Los Angeles Lakers.
Winning 118-116 at the Staples Center was enjoyable and thrilling. Dario Saric made the first of two free-throw attempts with four seconds left. He missed the second one, setting up a potential game-winning three-pointer from Julius Randle.
However, the Lakers power forward missed the desperation heave as time expired.
The victory lifted the morale of a team that had lost four straight. But it might mess up their future.
The Sixers (24-42), who were without Robert Covington (right knee soreness), would get the Lakers' top first-round pick if it falls out of the top three. If that happens, the pick will become unprotected in the 2018 draft. Meanwhile, winning games can also reduce the Sixers' likelihood of a higher pick.
The Brooklyn Nets with 12 wins have the league's worst record and are expected to finish the season that way. The Lakers (20-46) have the second-worst mark, followed by the Phoenix Suns (22-45). The Sixers are four losses behind Los Angeles with 16 games left. They would have been two losses behind the Lakers with a setback.
So there are several disappointed Sixers fans. But Ping-Pong balls mean nothing to the players.
"We just go out there and play and we just try to win games," Nik Stauskas said. "So if the fans want us to lose, I don't know what to tell them. Sorry if we win the game, I guess. I don't know. We're always going out there to win."
They did it Sunday night without Covington.
Covington said he slid on a wet spot near the three-point line the play right before fouling out late in Saturday's game here against the Los Angeles Clippers. He's listed as day-to-day.
"Today I feel better than I feel yesterday," Covington said. "But it's still sore. ... I banged it out the ground, too. So that didn't make it any better."
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot started in place of Covington, one night after starting at shooting guard. Gerald Henderson was back at shooting guard after missing Saturday's game with left-hip soreness.
Saric paced the Sixers with a career-high 29 points to extend his streak of consecutive double-figure scoring games to 16. Jahlil Okafor added 23 points. Luwawu-Cabarrot finished with a career-high 18 points. Thirteen of his points came in the first half. The rookie's previous career high was 12.
