SACRAMENTO — Malik Monk pumped his arm in celebration, while Paul George threw his in disgust.
Monk drew the contact to force George’s exit with his sixth foul, then sank the free throws that helped seal the Kings’ stunning last-minute 113-107 victory over the 76ers at Golden1 Center.
The result snapped the Sixers’ four-game winning streak. And it spoiled what, before the final minutes, had been one of George’s best performances with the Sixers, totaling 30 points, eight rebounds, and five assists.
It also came with the Sixers playing without two starters, as former MVP Joel Embiid rested on the front end of a back-to-back and athletic wing Kelly Oubre Jr. missed the game with a sprained left hand. Three rotation players, however, did return in center Andre Drummond (10 points, nine rebounds) and guards Kyle Lowry (zero points) and Eric Gordon (14 points, three assists).
George scored 20 of those points in the first half, then made timely plays to keep the Sixers ahead after the break. When a three-pointer by Trey Lyles got Sacramento within 77-74 with less than five minutes remaining in the third quarter, George answered with a driving finish and a make from beyond the arc. Then after the Kings cut a 10-point Sixers advantage to 96-92 during George’s rest to start the final period, he dished a pass to Maxey for a deep three-pointer.
George and Maxey helped build a 103-94 lead with 4:57 to play and the Sixers appeared set to coast to their latest victory. But then George and the Sixers started to unravel, with the star forward committing three turnovers and three fouls in crunch time and ending his night on the sidelines. The Sixers also struggled to adjust to the Kings’ trapping defense on Maxey as they blew that nine-point lead in a three-minute span. In fact, Maxey’s basket to give the Sixers a 107-98 lead with 3:34 remaining was the team’s last as the Kings closed on a 15-0 run.
-The performance initially appeared to be an encouraging sign for George, the perennial All-Star and smooth multi-level scorer who entered Wednesday shooting an uncharacteristic 40.5% from the floor while still looking for his spots while playing alongside the All-Star tandem of Embiid and Maxey. Yet the outing also came with a brief injury scare, when he hit the deck hard following a driving layup and spent time on the bench with a heating pad strapped to his lower back.
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Maxey added 27 points — including 12 in the third quarter — and six assists for the Sixers, who led, 89-80, entering the final period. Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis had already notched his NBA-leading 29th double-double of the season by halftime, and finished with 17 points, 21 rebounds, and seven assists.
The Sixers overcame a poor start on both ends to lead by as many as 14 points in the second quarter, when Gordon banged his third deep shot of the first half. But a 20-6 Kings run, primarily with George on the bench, brought the game to a 57-57 tie on a De’Aaron Fox three-pointer just before the buzzer.
The Sixers will play the second half of a back-to-back Thursday at the Golden State Warriors, before concluding this six-game road stint on Saturday at the Brooklyn Nets.
