The Philadelphia 76ers were on the brink of a five-game win streak, but they had a meltdown in the final minutes versus the Sacramento Kings.
All-Stars De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis went off in the victory. Fox had 35 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Sabonis toyed with a triple double with a stat line of 17 points, 21 rebounds and 7 assists.
For Philly, All-Stars Tyrese Maxey and Paul George made their imprint. Maxey scored 27 points, dished out 6 assists and had 5 steals. George recorded 30 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.
Joel Embiid once again missed another game due to a left foot sprain. The 76ers are unfortunately 7-13 without Embiid this season.
What Happened?
Paul George scored 20 points in the first half, but ultimately only finished with 30. George committed costly three turnovers and ended up with five fouls in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
The Kings were down double digits multiple times throughout the game, at one point being down 14. They finally found their groove in the fourth quarter.
Philadelphia led 107-98 with 3:15 remaining in the quarter. De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk gave the Sixers foul trouble in the closing minutes. Paul George fouled out, just one game after posting five fouls.
The Kings kept fighting, and the Sixers began to hurt themselves time and time again. The detrimental turnovers allowed Sacramento to not just tie up the game with just a minute remaining, but take the lead with 32.8 seconds left when Guerschon Yabusele was called for a goaltending violation.
Philly is known for brutal collapses and taking their foot off of the gas. It doesn’t help when your best player isn’t on the floor, but it’s still inexcusable to allow a 15-0 run to end a game.
Moving Forward
Sacramento improved to 15-19 on the season, which is 12th in the Western Conference and also just a few games out of the play-in tournament. They have struggled all season, to the point where they fired the 2023 Coach of the Year in Mike Brown. De’Aaron Fox’s name has even been involved in major trade rumors. Maybe this win against a solid Sixers team will spark a run for the Kings.
Philadelphia was 9-3 in December, which was a vast improvement considering they started 2-12 through the first fourteen games. This loss to the Kings hurts because they are trying to climb in the Eastern Conference standings. The 76ers are back at it tonight when they face the Warriors at 10pm EST.
