Sacramento Kings Lose at Home to Philadelphia 76ers, 125-108

Philadelphia 76ers posted a win over Sacramento Kings tonight in California, 125-108. It was the 38th victory for Brett Brown’s guys, who beat the Kings much easier than anyone expected.

The fans at the Golden One Center saw a game in which Philly led throughout the entire time, while on the other side, Kings kept coming back but without endangering the momentum and the swing of the guests.

“You know when was the last time we won on the road,” asked Tobias Harris. “January 20. In Brooklyn.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKWUTpVYxUk

In the late part of the contest, with the 76ers leading 116-106, Kings missed several consecutive attacks, not utilizing the fact that the guests also went on a cold streak. When needed the most, one of their strongest weapons, the three-point shooting, failed to show up, and the home team was left in the dust.

With this loss, the second since the All-Star break, the Kings fell behind the Memphis Grizzlies four games, and are in a difficult situation regarding the playoff race.

“Including ourselves, everyone is either jockeying for playoff seeding or to make the playoffs. We have a lot of those type of games on our schedule so we are going to see, we are going to feel firsthand that desperation and intensity.” said Luke Walton.

De’Aaron Fox scored 23 points for the hosts, team-high, and had 7 assists and three rebounds. He was 0-for-4 from behind the three-point line. Buddy Hield had 22, with six threes in 10 attempts, while Harrison Barnes added 15. Kent Bazemore scored 14 with 9 boards, ad Bogdan Bogdanovic 13, grabbing 6 boards and dishing five assists.

The hosts had an excellent shooting percentage, 53.2% from the field, but allowed the 76ers to have too many open three-point shots, and also failed to show up in the decisive moments.

What was also a problem, was the fact that they opened the game slow, and had several periods in which they blacked out. Late in the first, Philly was up 30-18, but Sacramento generated a series of 12 unanswered points.

After that, the 76ers led by 18 in the third, with the Kings coming down to six in just a few minutes. We saw the same thing in the final period. Guests were up 18, and the Kings came down to six. But that was all they could do, as Philly replied each time.

Tobias Harris led the unit from the East Coast with 28 points and 14 boards, shooting 11-for-22 from the field and adding four threes.

“Today I just did a good job of going out and playing free. Playing with that energy, and flow, and just fueling off of my confidence I had from the beginning of the game.”

At long last, a Sixers win on the road.

Tobias Harris, who knew exactly the last time the Sixers won on the road, caught up with our multi-talented @SerenaWinters to talk about the team victory in Sacramento. pic.twitter.com/HKtsCQFyk3

— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) March 6, 2020

Shake Milton ended the night with 20, Al Horford had 18, with 8 boards and six assists, while Alec Burks scored 17, and Raul Neto 16. Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid were once again out. Mike Scott replaced the Process with 11 points, 7 baords and 4 dimes, delivering an exceptional energy and momentum to the guests’ team.

“Tonight we came out with great physicality; we came out with a great spirit. Shout-out to everybody on our team, I thought Mike Scott did a great job and set the tone for us from the beginning, with that will to win, and everybody just followed.”

The 76ers hit 17 threes, posting 45.9% from downtown.

It was a big win for them, as they still have chances to reach the Heat at No.4 in the East. Right now, Philly (38-25) trails 2.5 games, and also has pressure from behind, with the Pacers closing down on them. Indiana is just half a game away from Brown’s side. Up next, they met the Warriors on Saturday, and are coming back home for the four-game homestand.

The Kings (27-35) didn’t need this defeat at all. They are now traveling to Portland to play against the Blazers, who are one of the teams chasing the Grizzlies too. After that, Walton’s guys also have four consecutive matches at home.