SACRAMENTO – Malik Monk raised his arm in celebration, while Paul George raised his in disgust.
Monk caused contact to force George out with his sixth foul, then made the free throws that helped seal the Kings' stunning last-minute 113-107 victory over the 76ers at Golden1 Center.
This result ended 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.
This also happened with the Sixers playing without two starters, as former MVP Joel Embiid rested up front with a back-to-back and athletic wing player Kelly Oubre Jr. missed the game with a sprained ankle. the left hand. Three rotation players returned, however, namely 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 some timely plays to keep the Sixers ahead after the break. When a Trey Lyles three-pointer brought Sacramento within 77-74 with less than five minutes remaining in the third quarter, George responded with a driving finish and a field goal from beyond the arc. Then, after the Kings cut the Sixers' advantage by 10 points to 96-92 during George's rest to start the final period, he lofted 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 looked poised for their final win. But then George and the Sixers began to fall apart, with the star forward committing three turnovers and three fouls in critical moments and ending his night on the bench. The Sixers also struggled to adjust to the Kings' trapping defense against Maxey as they blew that nine-point lead in three minutes. In fact, Maxey's basket to give the Sixers a 107-98 lead with 3:34 left 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 percent from the floor while still finding his spots while playing the alongside Embiid's All-Star tandem. and Maxey. Yet the outing also came with a brief injury scare, when he hit the deck hard after 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 made his third deep shot of the first half. But a 20-6 run by the Kings, mostly with George on the bench, brought the game tied 57-57 on a De'Aaron Fox three-pointer just before the buzzer.
The Sixers will play the second half of a back-to-back Thursday against the Golden State Warriors, before concluding the six-game road trip Saturday at the Brooklyn Nets.
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