2012 NBA schedule: Lakers vs. 76ers highlight quiet Sunday

Lakers 111, Sixers 98

In our brief preview of the Lakers’ visit to Philadelphia on Sunday, we noted that L.A.‘s road woes stem from two factors: shooting defense and turnover rate. Well, the Lakers let the Sixers shoot 49 percent from the floor, 40 percent on threes and committed 15 turnovers in 95 possessions (15.7 percent) ... and still won because Philly couldn’t stop Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace or Darius Morris. (So keep an eye on those three factors in future L.A. road games.) Kobe scored 34 on 12-21 shooting, and added six assists with five turnovers. Philly was led by Nick Young (30 points, 12-23 shooting). Dorell Wright strangely had nine assists off of the bench; in Jrue Holiday’s absence, everyone is a point guard. The Lakers are now 11-14 and the Sixers are 12-12.

Raptors 103, Rockets 96

It’s ridiculous how much Jose Calderon is as a starter vs. a reserve. Calderon had his second career triple-double on Sunday, with 18 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds as Toronto focused in to get past Houston. James Harden poured in 28, but the Rockets shot poorly (41 percent) and didn’t correct it with too many offensive rebounds (eight in 46 opportunities). The Raptors have beaten two straight Southwest Division foes ... with Andrea Bargnani and Kyle Lowry out.

With the loss, Philadelphia has now dropped three straight for their longest losing streak of the season. As for the Lakers, this was the first time that they’ve strung together consecutive wins since they won three in a row from Nov. 16-20.

With most of the NBA playing on Saturday, Sunday will be a quiet day off for most teams in the league. The light Sunday schedule is highlighted by one Eastern conference team holding onto their eighth spot in the conference by a thread and another still trying to put it all together.

Here’s a look at the rest of the NBA schedule for Sunday, Dec. 16. For a look at the full schedule, head over to SI.com.