The Philadelphia 76ers entered Sacramento in tough circumstances on Monday as they were looking to get themselves moving in the right direction again.
They knew they would be down Joel Embiid and Danny Green as they have been out for a bit. However, they also lost Tobias Harris and Seth Curry shortly before the game as well. If one does include Ben Simmons, the Sixers did not have a single starter out there from the No. 1 seeded 2020-21 season.
It did not matter. Tyrese Maxey led a strong team effort by scoring 24 points in a 102-94 win over the Kings on the road. Six members of the Sixers scored in double-figures in this one as it was an impressive effort all around for Philadelphia.
“We said it before the game, we’re gonna win the game,” said coach Doc Rivers. “I said I don’t know how, but we’re gonna figure it out as the game goes on. These types of wins when you have them are really enjoyable. They’re such team wins. There was not one guy tonight like there was so many guys that did so many little things. When you have a team like ours that actually believes that they can win these games, it helps.”
The Sixers could have easily packed this one in. It was the fifth game of a long 6-game road trip and considering the dire circumstances, they could have taken the loss and gone the easy way out. Instead, they dug deep and they battled to make sure they came out with the win.
“When you’re put in a situation where you could have excuses as to why you lost, it always feels good to pull out the win,” said Matisse Thybulle. “I think just for us not to lean into those excuses and reasons why we could have lost or why it would have been hard to win, just like knuckle down and take care of everything regardless, I think just speaks a lot to the guys that we have on this team.”
One can point to Sacramento’s record and say that the Sixers beat an inferior opponent. While that part may be true, Philadelphia was still down four starters. This was a game the Kings should have won while at home.
“It was great,” said Maxey. “I was telling somebody big win. No Tobias, no Seth Curry, no big fella, no Danny Green, guys stepped up tonight. Guys played big minutes. Shake hit big shots, Charles Bassey, Paul Reed, everybody. It was a team effort. Hats off to everybody.”
Philadelphia got contributions from everybody and they were able to come away with a nice win. Andre Drummond, especially, had 23 rebounds with 10 coming in the fourth quarter in order to help the Sixers get this one done.
“Everybody just took a deep breath and just let it out,” said Drummond. “It was one of those wins that felt really good to get. We got a lot of guys that are out right now through injuries and other personal reasons so just to get a win like this with the guys we have, it’s great.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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