Kings fall to Nuggets
SACRAMENTO — The Sacramento Kings suffered their fourth consecutive loss to start the season and remained winless under coach Luke Walton, but they were far more competitive in a 101-94 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Monday night at Golden 1 Center.
Richaun Holmes came off the bench to post 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Kings (0-4), providing the spark Sacramento needed after being blown out in the first three games. De’Aaron Fox had 20 points and nine assists.
The Nuggets (3-0) were led by Jamal Murray, who scored 18 points, and Gary Harris, who had 17. The Kings held the Nuggets to 36.7% shooting from the field and 10-of-36 shooting from 3-point range.
The Kings trailed by three following a putback basket by Harrison Barnes with 25.3 seconds to play, but they couldn’t get any closer.
The Kings turned in a much better effort against one of the top teams in the Western Conference after losing by double digits to the Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz last week. They contested shots, crashed the boards, took better care of the ball and discovered an offensive rhythm that was missing in their first three games.
Joel Embiid scores 36 points in Sixers' victory over Hawks
ATLANTA — The 76ers seem to be a team that can withstand most situations.
They overcame horrid shooting in their first two games of the season. Then, on Monday, they overcame Trae Young and the scrappy Atlanta Hawks to win 105-103 here at the State Farm Arena.
Joel Embiid hit a pair of foul shots with 5.3 seconds left to give the Sixers their two-point cushion. Vince Carter missed a desperation three-pointer at the buzzer, as Philly escaped with the victory.
The Sixers are 3-0 for the first time since the 2013-14 season, Brett Brown's first season. The victory also left them as Eastern Conference's only remaining undefeated team. The Hawks dropped to 2-1.
Embiid finished with 36 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, and three steals after missing Saturday's victory at the Detroit Pistons with a sprained right ankle.
While he was healthy, the Sixers finished the game with just 11 able bodies.