Noel appears to be OK after injury to eye

LOS ANGELES - The 76ers feel a lot better since Nerlens Noel's eye injury was nothing more than a scare.

Now, they hope a woeful performance against the Los Angeles Lakers doesn't linger during the remainder of their three-game road trip, which takes them to Sacramento on Tuesday night.

From there, the Sixers (17-53) visit the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday.

In losing by 101-87 to the Lakers on Sunday night, the Sixers shot just 36 percent from the field, surrendered 60 second-half points, and were torched by Jeremy Lin.

The Sixers stayed close to the New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves in the battle for the league's worst record and the greatest chance at the top pick in the draft lottery.

Heading into Monday's NBA games, the Sixers were three losses behind the last-place Knicks (14-56) with 12 games left. The Timberwolves (15-54) have the league's second-worst record. The Sixers have the third-worst mark right ahead of the Lakers (18-50).

The Sixers will get the Lakers' first-round pick in the draft if Los Angeles finishes outside of the top five in the draft lottery. The chances are slim, although Sunday's result makes it slightly more likely.

Noel took a blow in the left eye from Lakers center Tarik Black with 5 minutes, 25 seconds left in the third quarter.

"His hand flew in my eye," said Noel, who still appeared out of it after the game. "I was dizzy for a little bit. But I feel better now."

Noel inadvertently took a shot from Black underneath the basket. After jumping to make a defensive play, he was hit while coming down. Noel fell to the court and was helped up by teammate Ish Smith as coach Brett Brown rushed over during a stoppage in play.

Sixers trainer Kevin Johnson checked out Noel before placing an ice pack on his eye on the bench. He returned to the game at the start of the fourth quarter.

Noel finished with nine points and seven rebounds. He scored three points and grabbed two rebounds after the injury.

@PompeyOnSixers