The Philadelphia 76ers snag a rare road win despite three starters being sidelined by injury.
The Sacramento Kings have the longest playoff drought in the entire NBA and entered tonight’s game as the ninth-placed team in the Western Conference. The Philadelphia 76ers were without their two All-Stars, Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, along with Josh Richardson, who remains in concussion protocol.
Despite the stacked deck, Philadelphia put forward one of their better road performances of the year and finally entered the double-digit win column for such games.
Like their past several games, Philadelphia came out hot from the onset; Shake Milton, Tobias Harris, and Al Horford carried the load. The three combined for 28 of Philadelphia’s 32 first quarter points.
At the end of the quarter, Philadelphia held the lead 32-30.
A 9-0 run early in the second quarter resulted in Philadelphia taking a 41-32 lead after an Alec Burks free throw. The team never really relinquished the lead from there. Entering the halftime locker room, Philadelphia carried a 63-53 lead.
The second half was a continuance of the same. Philadelphia’s triumvirate led the way and never allowed Sacramento to truly get back into the game. Every run Sacramento mustered was met with a Philadelphia retort, as the team won every quarter in a near wire-to-wire victory.
This game won’t change the tides of Philadelphia’s season. The team needs their stars to get back for them to make any noise in the playoffs. Yet, for one single night on the opposite coast, Philadelphia Twitter can rest easy behind the team’s strong, 10th road victory of the season.
Philadelphia’s next game is primetime Saturday as they take on Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors on ABC. Interestingly, Embiid could theoretically be back for that game while Simmons and Richardson will likely be on the shelf.
A likely favorite, Philadelphia will be looking to win a second straight on the road as they work to find their spot in the Eastern Conference standings.