Kings lose ground in playoff race
SACRAMENTO — Tobias Harris had 28 points and 14 rebounds to lead the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers to a 125-108 victory over the Kings on Thursday night at Golden 1 Center.
Shake Milton added 20 points for the 76ers (38-25), who snapped a nine-game road losing streak despite missing three of their four leading scorers. Alec Burks scored 17 points. Raul Neto had 16.
De’Aaron Fox had 23 points and seven assists for the Kings (27-35), who fell a half-game behind the Portland Trail Blazers for ninth in the Western Conference. Buddy Hield came off the bench to score 22 points despite being held to two in the first half.
The 76ers shot 49% from the field and made 17 of 37 (.459) from 3-point range. The Kings shot 53.2% but committed 18 turnovers.
The Kings came out flat and fell behind by double digits in the opening minutes. The 76ers went up 18-8 on a 3-pointer by Milton and extended their lead to 12 when Horford buried a long ball with 3:38 to play in the first quarter. Kent Bazemore and Nemanja Bjelica led a momentary charge as Sacramento staged a 10-0 run to tie the game, but Philadelphia mounted a 12-2 run in the second to reestablish a 12-point lead.
Philadelphia led 63-53 at the break. The Kings shot 55% in the opening half, but they committed 10 turnovers and allowed the 76ers to make 9 of 19 from 3-point range.
Neto converted a three-point play to put the 76ers up 80-61 midway through the third quarter. Bjelica answered with a 3-pointer to spark a 15-2 run as the Kings cut the deficit to six with 3:14 to play in the third, but they were outscored 12-2 over the final 2:24 and trailed 96-80 going into the fourth.
Philadelphia continued to light the Kings up from outside and led by as many as 20 in the fourth quarter. The Kings made one last run to get within six with 4:58 remaining following a barrage of 3pointers by Hield, but they couldn’t get any closer.
Going into the game, the Kings were tied with the Trail Blazers for ninth in the Western Conference, 3 { games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the eighth seed.
They are now tied with the San Antonio Spurs for 10th in the West. They trail the Grizzlies by four games and the Blazers by a half-game.
A critical game awaits the Kings this weekend. They will visit the Blazers on Saturday. Portland will be on the second night of a back-to-back after visiting the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.
The 76ers were missing three of
their four leading scorers. Center Joel Embiid (shoulder), guard Ben Simmons (back) and guard Josh Richardson (concussion) were all out.
Embiid, a three-time All-Star, is averaging 23.3 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.3 blocked shots. Simmons, a two-time AllStar, averages 16.7 points, 8.2 assists, 7.8 rebounds and 2.1 steals. Richardson is averaging 13.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists.