The Philadelphia 76ers improved to 8-0 at home on Wednesday night with a 97-91 win over the Sacramento Kings.
The Sixers jumped out to an 11-2 lead, and it looked like they would be in for an easy night. The Kings, despite playing the last game of a four-game road trip, had other ideas. Sacramento refused to go away time and again on Wednesday night.
After building a seven-point lead after one quarter, the Sixers put forth a disastrous second quarter that was marred by turnovers and uninspired play. As a result, the Kings made a run and only a buzzer-beating floater by Raul Neto preserved a halftime lead for the Sixers.
The Sixers regrouped at halftime and asserted themselves in the third, getting a huge spark from Matisse Thybulle, who we will talk about more later. The Sixers won the quarter by 11 and carried a 12-point advantage into the final quarter.
Still, the Kings wouldn’t go away. After the Sixers built the lead as high as 17, Sacramento made yet another push, getting within five points with under three minutes to go. Fortunately, the Sixers had the answer and were able to keep the Kings at bay until the final buzzer.
It’s safe to say Joel Embiid was tired of hearing about his zero-point, 0-for-11 game in Toronto on Monday. The big guy asserted himself early and often on Wednesday, scoring the first four points for the Sixers and finishing with 33 points, 16 rebounds, two blocks, and an assist. He shot 10-of-19 from the field and made sure to get to the free-throw line, where he had 14 attempts, connecting on 12. Embiid was aggressive and did a much better job passing out of double teams.
Tobias Harris didn’t have his jump shot working but chipped in 14 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.
Al Horford added 12 points, seven rebounds, five assists, a steal, and a block.
Ben Simmons had 10 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
Josh Richardson, who didn’t play in the second half due to hamstring tightness, had nine points, three assists, and a block.
Thybulle provided a huge boost off the bench, playing a huge role in the team’s third-quarter push. He finished with 15 points, four steals, three rebounds, two blocks, and an assist. The rookie shot 5-of-5 from the floor, 3-of-3 from beyond the arc, and 2-of-2 from the line. It was a sight to behold and an incredibly encouraging sign for the Sixers.
It was far from a pretty performance. The Sixers had 17 turnovers and shot just 19.2% from beyond the arc. But Joel Embiid responded to the worst game of his career on Monday in exactly the way you’d hope, and if Matisse Thybulle can replicate what we saw from him Wednesday night it would be huge going forward. It was nice to see the Sixers answer each push from the Kings and close the game out down the stretch.
The Sixers improved to 12-6 on the season and will get back at it Friday night against the Knicks in New York.