So this is Christmas.

Worse than receiving a fruitcake, the 76ers got heartache last night along with the unsettling realization that even though the Los Angeles Lakers were playing without Shaquille O'Neal, they still are nearly impossible to beat.

Especially at home.

Even with Kobe Bryant shooting 2 for 14 through three quarters.

Even though Allen Iverson, his mother and a boyhood friend from Virginia in tow, scored a team-high 31 points in the rematch of last season's NBA Finals.

Christmas for the Sixers was little more than a Tuesday, and a devastating 88-82 loss to the Lakers. Desperately wanting to get this seven-game road swing off to a good start, the Sixers built a 12-point lead in the third quarter, fought off a furious Lakers rally to go ahead by 13 early in the fourth quarter, then watched it all go for naught.

The Lakers put O'Neal on the injured list before the game because of sore toes on both feet, but his supporting cast played well down the stretch, outscoring the Sixers by 19-2 to go ahead, 79-75, a lead they did not relinquish. Matt Harpring made it interesting with a late three-pointer to cut the Lakers' lead to 85-82, but it was too late.