GRADES: Sixers mount 4th quarter comeback to topple Kings
By Sam Coltrane
The Sixers mounted a fourth quarter comeback on the road to upend the Sacramento Kings’ four game winning streak.
Both teams came out aggressive, pushing the pace. De’Aaron Fox, following his Western Conference Player of the Week award, kicked off the scoring with a lay-in. From there, Seth Curry, Ben Simmons, and Joel Embiid led the way for the Sixers. Curry poured in eight, Embiid seven, and Simmons had nine as the trio combined for 24 of the team’s 42 in the quarter.
Despite Fox scoring 15 in the first, including 11 in the final 2:19, Philadelphia entered the second quarter leading 42-32.
The lead expanded to 14 early behind four quick points from Tobias Harris before a Buddy Hield three-pointer with 8:13 remaining closed the gap to 54-46. Nearly 2:30 minutes went by before either team scored again until a Hield three shortened the lead again.
Sacramento continued their three-point barrage draining eight threes across the quarter as they entered halftime leading 71-66.
Unlike much of the first half, both teams struggled offensively in the third quarter. The triumvirate of Simmons, Embiid, and Curry led the way again for Philadelphia scoring 16 of the team’s 21. For Sacramento, Marvin Bagley III kept them in the game scoring 12 of the team’s 20 to give them a four-point lead entering the fourth, 91-87
The fourth quarter started like the second, Harris scored four quick points which evened the game. The teams would trade baskets from there before a Harris three-pointer gave them the lead 102-99. Shake Milton followed suit with a three-pointer, Embiid added some free throws, and Philadelphia would never relinquish the lead.
For many fans, this game felt bigger than a mere win against the Sacramento Kings. It was a game that reminded everyone this year is a new year. The team has a new coach, shooters spreading the floor, and a renewed strategy both defensively and in fourth-quarter management.
Philadelphia moves to 14-0 when their opening night lineup starts and just took a game that likely would have been a loss last year. It’s an exciting time for the team.
Philadelphia 76ers. TOBIAS HARRIS. A-. <strong>41 mins | 22 pts | 10 reb | 1 ast | 0 stl | 0 blk | 1 TO | 8-15 FG | 2-5 3PT| 4-4 FT | 4 PF | +4 |</strong><p>Harris earned an A-… this will be a constant theme. Harris, like most of the team, played a strong game within the confines of his role. What felt like a rather unimpressive performance ended with Harris posting a 20/10 double-double on efficient shooting. If these performances truly become Harris’ commonplace, Philadelphia absolutely has another all-star.</p>. PF
A-. <strong>35 mins | 25 pts | 17 reb | 6 ast | 2 stl | 2 blk | 4 TO | 6-15 FG | 0-2 3PT| 13-14 FT | 3 PF | +9 |</strong><p>Embiid posted a life of 25/17/6 on 15 shots with great defense and yet it didn’t feel like a top-five performance for Embiid even this year. He has fully entrenched himself in the MVP discussion.</p>. C. Philadelphia 76ers. JOEL EMBIID
A-. <strong>34 mins | 14 pts | 7 reb | 9 ast | 1 stl | 0 blk | 3 TO | 6-13 FG | 0-0 3PT| 2-6 FT | 1 PF | +9 |</strong><p>Not unlike Harris, Simmons path to stardom hasn’t rocketed uphill the way Philadelphia fans would have hoped. That’s okay. Simmons is a bona fide all-star, a DPOY candidate, and a non-stat hunting triple-double threat every night. He’s all of these things and 24 years old. I was skeptical of Doc Rivers’ strategy to letting Simmons play within himself. Yet here we are, the team is humming and Simmons is having a positive impact on the team beyond his numbers.</p>. PG. Philadelphia 76ers. BEN SIMMONS
A-. <strong>29 mins | 22 pts | 3 reb | 1 ast | 1 stl | 0 blk | 3 TO | 7-13 FG | 4-6 3PT| 4-4 FT | 2 PF | -2 |</strong><p>Curry’s spacing has immediately shown dividends for Embiid’s performance and fourth quarter spacing. Curry holds his own with just about any shooter in the league. 22 points on 13 shots is incredible efficiency and it doesn’t even come close to quantifying his significance.</p>. SG. Philadelphia 76ers. SETH CURRY
A-. <strong>17 mins | 13 pts | 3 reb | 0 ast | 0 stl | 0 blk | 0 TO | 5-7 FG | 2-3 3PT| 1-2 FT | 2 PF | +6 |</strong><p>Furkan Korkmaz was the off-the-bench shot maker for Philadelphia tonight. Last year, Philadelphia’s guard rotation was a rotating experiment of who could hurt the team the least. This year, the team seems to have endless options for Rivers to deploy. Tyrese Maxey didn’t touch the court. He didn’t have to. Matisse Thybulle, Milton, and Korkmaz led the bench wing unit. What was a weak link last year has transformed into youthful depth, impactful scoring, strong defensive efforts, and perhaps all-star trade bait. The unit’s impact shouldn’t be understated.</p>. SF. Philadelphia 76ers. FURKAN KORKMAZ
Sacramento, now at .500, will aim to restart their win streak against a struggling Orlando Magic on Friday.
On Thursday, Philadelphia will continue to the second leg of their four-game west coast swing taking on the Portland Trail Blazers as Philadelphia aims to avenge their atypically bad loss against a depleted Portland team just a week ago.
Next. 5 takeaways from first third of season. dark