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Philly takes road woes to Los Angeles

Mar 22, 2015 - 1:46 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - A pair of storied franchises going through rough times clash Sunday night at Staples Center, where the Los Angeles Lakers take on the road-weary Philadelphia 76ers.

The Sixers are winless in their last 14 road games and 5-28 as the visitor this season. They last dropped 15 in a row on the road from Jan. 2 to March 21, 2013.

Philadelphia has won two straight and four of its last seven games, and handed the NBA-worst New York Knicks a 97-81 setback Friday night at Wells Fargo Center. Nerlens Noel scored a career-high 23 points and added 14 rebounds, five steals and three blocks to lead the 76ers, while Ish Smith posted 15 points and nine points.

"I think Nerlens had more of a concentrated effort to run plays for himself," said 76ers coach Brett Brown. "He wanted the ball, and we got him the ball."

The 76ers scored 29 points off 20 Knicks turnovers.

Philly will also visit Sacramento and Denver on the western jaunt and is only 5-20 against Western Conference foes (1-11 on road).

Sixers forward Thomas Robinson (ribs) is questionable against the Lakers.

Los Angeles is mired in a four-game losing streak and suffered its ninth defeat in the previous 10 tries with Thursday's 80-73 decision versus the Utah Jazz.

Tarik Black had 13 points and 10 rebounds, Wesley Johnson added 12 points and Carlos Boozer rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points off the bench. Jordan Hill grabbed 10 rebounds with four points for the Lakers, who shot 40.3 percent for the game and had a 43-36 rebounding advantage.

Black looked on the positive side after another Lakers defeat.

"We definitely want to win and keep the tradition going. But for me, it's a blessing for me to be in this situation," Black told NBA.com. "There are millions of kids who play basketball in high school and college who never get the opportunity to put on an NBA jersey, so those of us in this locker room are very fortunate. We have an opportunity to play for one of the most historic franchises in NBA history."

The Lakers are 10-24 as the host and have lost three straight and five of their last six home games.

After welcoming the Sixers to Staples Center, LA will start a five-game road trip Tuesday against Oklahoma City, Minnesota, Toronto, Brooklyn and Philadelphia. The trip concludes March 30 in the City of Brotherly Love.

The 76ers and Lakers split two matchups last season with each team prevailing as the visitor. Los Angeles is 9-4 in the past 13 games in this series, but has lost back-to-back encounters at home.