Philadelphia 76ers bow down to Sacramento Kings 108-96 in west coast trip finale

The Sacramento Kings leave the Philadelphia 76ers in the dust 108-96 as Philadelphia falls to 39-33 on the season and bumps back down to 8th place in the Eastern Conference.

The 76ers were without the services of Robert Covington (knee), Joel Embiid (knee), De’Anthony Melton (back), and Kelly Oubre Jr. (shoulder). Kevin Huerter (shoulder), Trey Kyles (knee), and Sasha Vezenkov (ankle) were out for the Kings.

76ers and Tyrese Maxey run out of gas  

After exploding for 121 points in an impressive win over the Los Angeles Clippers, the 76ers’ offense reverted to its stagnant ways led by Tyrese Maxey’s 29 points on 10-16 shooting from the field and 5-7 perimeter shooting.

Maxey exploded for 21 points in the 1st quarter setting a career-high in most points scored in a quarter. The all-star guard was scorching from three, hitting perimeter shots off the bounce and spotting up from the wing. Maxey torched his defender in Ellis and Murray off the point-of-attack and got to the rim and mid-range.

However, Maxey scored just 8 points on 3-5 field shooting after the 1st quarter as Sacramento’s defense collapsed onto him when he attempted to penetrate, and without any offensive help from the rest of the 76ers, the Kings’ strategy proved effective. After getting swarmed off the point-of-attack, Maxey simply lost the aggressiveness he possessed in the 1st quarter and didn’t look for his shot nearly as much. 

TYRESE MAXEY HAS THE FIRST 16 @sixers POINTS 🔥

They lead SAC by 1 early on NBA TV. pic.twitter.com/0Kh8sSfB0Y

— NBA (@NBA) March 26, 2024

This was a game where Philadelphia greatly missed Kelly Oubre Jr.’s ability to attack the rim, especially when Sacramento went zone. Without Oubre, Tobias Harris once again needed to up his production and he once again failed to do so, contributing just 12 points and 8 rebounds on 5-15 shooting from the field.

Harris routinely attempted to post-up smaller defenders in De’Aaron Fox only to get stripped and stall out the shot clock. Harris was determined to find success in isolation as he relentlessly attempted to drive Keegan Murray and found zero success. 

The 76ers didn’t get much out of Cam Payne, Buddy Hield, or Kyle Lowry either as the trio combined for just 18 points. Philadelphia did unexpectedly get some offense from the newest 10-day signee D.J. Wilson, who notched 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks, on 2-2 shooting from three. Wilson displayed the ability to stretch the floor as a four-man, attack off the dribble, and protect the rim with versatility. 

76ers no match for Kings’ pace

On the last game of their four-game West Coast road swing, Philadelphia showed how jet-lagged they truly were as Domantas Sabonis tallied a triple-double of 11 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists, and commanded a fast-paced Kings offense.

BREAKING: Domantas Sabonis has broken the record for most consecutive double-doubles (54) in a season since the ABA-NBA merger. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/y0U8fKqp8o

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) March 26, 2024

Sabonis thrived anchoring Sacramento’s offense from the nail where he ran a plethora of handoff actions with Malik Monk that enabled Monk to attack the rim against the 76ers’ drop coverage. Sabonis repeatedly drew double teams in the low post and impressively found back-cutters like Keegan Murray (23 points) who wonderfully played off of Sabonis. 

The Kings truly beat Philadelphia in transition where Sabonis’ outlet passes led to quick fast-break opportunities that De’Aaron Fox (23 points and 5 assists)  took full advantage of. Fox used his quickness and rim gravity to create open looks for a hot Davion Mitchell, who finished with 18 points on 3-4 shooting from three.

The 76ers concluded their West Coast road trip with a 1-3 record and will rematch the Los Angeles Clippers in their homecoming game on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. EST on ESPN and NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Mandatory Credit: Copyright 2024 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)