76ers vs. Lakers: De’Anthony Melton Discusses Success on Friday

76ers guard De'Anthony Melton reacts to his career-night against Los Angeles.

When the Philadelphia 76ers tipped off their Friday night matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers, Joel Embiid stood out in the opening minutes, per usual. Playing for the entire first quarter, Embiid knocked down eight of his nine shots for 20 of the Sixers’ 31 first-quarter points.

Embiid cooled down during his eight-minute shift in the second quarter, leaving the door open for his teammates to produce. That’s when De’Anthony Melton started establishing an offensive rhythm.

By draining two of his three shots from the field, with all three attempts coming from beyond the arc, Melton put up all six of his first-half points during the second quarter.

In the second half, Melton looked better than ever on both ends of the floor. Offensively, Melton was a perfect 6-6 from the field in the third quarter. He knocked down four threes and produced 16 points. Then in the fourth quarter, Melton tacked on another nine points, knocking down two more of his threes to finish regulation with a career-high of 31 points.

“Honestly, on offense, my teammates were just finding me,” Melton said after the game. “I mean, some of those passes, the way they got through, I mean, I’m pretty sure they didn’t think it would get through, but it was getting there, they kept finding me, and [the Lakers] kept leaving me open, so I just kept shooting it and shooting with confidence.”

Melton wasn’t a one-man show on Friday night. As Embiid collected a game-high 38 points, and James Harden produced 28 points, Melton found 12 opportunities to launch shots from beyond the arc, knocking down eight total for the night.

“We got so many guys that draw attention, so it opens up space for other players,” Melton explained. “So, tonight was my night, and my teammates kept finding me, and I kept finding my open spot.”

Typically, players don’t pay much attention to whether they are close to career highs or not during the game as they don’t want to lose focus on the task at hand, which is winning the game. However, injured Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey made sure to remind Melton.

“I kind of noticed just talking to Tyrese and stuff like that,” Melton said. “I noticed, but I didn’t want to change how I was playing, and I just kept making sure I was ready and understanding when to attack when I need to. [Tyrese was saying] keep going. Stay in your shot, and if you don’t keep scoring, then you’re soft. So, I just had to keep going.”

Melton’s 33 points shined bright on Friday, but it was his career-high seven steals that made him feel the most satisfied about his spectacular showing.

“Apparently, I think I was tied with Matisse (Thybulle) on steals, and I wanted to beat him,” Melton continued. “I was just going out there and being solid. Being solid and listening to the game plan, I feel like all of that stuff matters. It took away possessions from them. All of them [stand out]. Without one, I don’t get seven. So, all of them I love.”

Although the Sixers nearly let their double-digit lead get away from them on Friday night with a couple of costly mistakes down the stretch, Melton and the 76ers closed out the matchup with a win in overtime, sending the Lakers home with a 133-122 loss. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.