Sacramento Kings Rally In The Fourth To Defeat Philly
By Rafe Wong
It took a fourth-quarter rally, but the Sacramento Kings completed the objective of defeating the Philadelphia 76ers tonight on the road.
No George Hill, no problem for the Sacramento Kings as they defeated the Philadelphia 76ers tonight by a score of 101-95.
First Half Summary
The Kings had trouble scoring points early due to the Sixers’ length on defense. But luckily, the purple and white have Zach Randolph on their squad.
To start the game, Z-Bo was in the zone which resulted in him scoring 13 points in the first quarter. As a result, the Kings were able to grab a 30-27 lead to end the first.
It was a different story for the Kings in the second, however, as the offense was halted scoring just 18 points for the period. The bench for Sacramento was solid, led by Frank Mason and Buddy Hield, but other than that it was a bad quarter for the Kings as they trailed going into the half 57-48.
Fox Ducking Fox?
Sacramento then received unfortunate news that De’Aaaron Fox would be sidelined for the remainder of the game due to a quad injury. With Hill already out for the Kings, the team turned to Frank Mason, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Garret Temple to run the point for the rest of the game.
Second Half Summary
With the Kings forced to play a different lineup to start the half, the third quarter began badly. The Kings’ offense was stagnant once again which resulted in the team falling into a 65-49 hole early. But due to the play of Z-Bo and Mason, the Kings created a late surge which only had them down 78-71 going into the final period.
The final quarter is when the game turned back into Sacramento’s favor. Yes, the team put up a 30 spot for the period, but their activity on defense was what made tonight’s win happen.
The Kings were forcing turnovers and giving the Sixers’ offense fits which resulted in Philly scoring just 17 points for the period. Even throughout the game, the Kings were solid defensively as they allowed Philly to shoot just 42% (34-81) from the floor and 28.6% (10-35) from beyond the perimeter for the night.
Final Thoughts
For the game, three players stood out the most for Sacramento. These players, in my opinion, were Randolph who scored 27 points, Mason who scored 16 points, and Hield who finished with 24 points. This trio kept the Kings within striking distance for the first three quarters and eventually helped seal the deal in the end.
Overall, another gritty victory for the Kings tonight as they had a solid defensive outing. Slowly but surely, this team is starting to figure it out and could possibly surprise people with their play going forth.
Next time the Kings hit the hardwood will be tomorrow when they face off against the Brooklyn Nets.