There were 18 seconds left in the game. De’Aaron Fox had just lost the ball out of bounds on an aggressive drive to the basket. He got it back on the next play, trotted up to the key, stopped and sunk the game-winner. Sacramento beat Philadelphia 109-108 to win their first back-to-back games of the season.
In perhaps Sacramento’s most complete game of the season, the Kings battled back-and-forth the entire game. Fox got the last shot, but Willie Cauley-Stein, Justin Jackson and Zach Randolph were the true stars of the night.
Jackson and Randolph combined for 39 points on 26 shots, while Cauley-Stein was a defensive stalwart all night. This was most evident on the last play of the game when Cauley-Stein disrupted Joel Embiid’s potential game-winning shot. Jackson carried over his strong play from Tuesday game against Oklahoma City, sinking seven of 12 shots. Sacramento shot 43% from the field and an impressive 12/27 from behind the arc.
After getting off to a quick start capped by a 38-point second quarter, the Kings struggled in the second half, being outscored by the 76ers in the last two quarters. Poor free throw shooting was a major reason, but Sacramento was able to pull out the win.
George Hill’s poor play continued tonight as he scored only two points. He played just 19 minutes; the least of all starters.
The Sacramento bench scored 56 points, while Fox added 11 points and 7 assists. The Kings (3-10) head to New York to take on the surging Knicks on Saturday.
