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Lakers visit Philadelphia after rare defeat

Dec 3, 2008 - 2:32 PM Los Angeles (14-2) at Philadelphia (8-10), 7:00 EST

PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- The Philadelphia 76ers snapped a four-game losing streak on Tuesday night at Chicago, and its a good thing they did because a victory on Wednesday will be tough to come by.

The Los Angeles Lakers make their lone regular-season appearance in Philadelphia on Wednesday and they will undoubtedly be motivated after their first road loss of the season.

Los Angeles started the season with a seven-game win streak before its first loss. The Lakers strung another seven straight wins together and then were on the wrong end of a 118-117 decision Tuesday in Indiana.

The Lakers seemingly took control in the third quarter against the Pacers, but were outscored, 32-16, over the final 12 minutes. Troy Murphy's tip-in at the buzzer was the difference.

After a trip to the finals last season, the current edition of the Lakers seems even more dangerous. Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Derek Fisher are all scoring in double figures.

Philadelphia was expected to be a team on the rise on the Eastern Conference this season but has not lived up to the hype.

The 76ers started the season 1-4 before winning five of six games. They had dropped four straight before Andre Miller led them to a win in Chicago on Monday.

Miller scored a season-high 28 points, including nine in overtime to lead Philadelphia to a 103-95 victory.

Signed away from the Los Angeles Clippers in the offseason, Elton Brand is leading the 76ers with 17.2 points and 10.1 rebounds per game, but the team is still working through some kinks as they play with a legitimate post presence for the first time in quite a while.

Andre Iguodala seems the most affected as he is shooting 39.8 percent from the floor and averaging 13 points per game. The 76ers will need a big effort from Iguodala if they are to hand the Lakers consecutive losses for the first time this season.

Los Angeles has won four of the last five in the series.