76ers Blow Late Lead In Sacramento
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Sixers crawled their way back after a brutal first half.
They lead by six points, with just 1:20 left in the game. But the Kings would prevail with a 109-108 victory.
It was another frustrating, late loss for the Sixers.
Trailing by one with 18 seconds and the ball, Kings rookie guard De'Aaron Fox made the biggest shot of his NBA career -- a contest mid-range pull up over the Sixers' best perimeter defender, Robert Covington.
With 13 seconds to go in the game, now trailing by a point, Brett Brown elected not to call timeout and let his rookie point-guard -- Ben Simmons - go.
Simmons, who battled foul trouble all night long, drove hard to his right and was cut off by an off-ball defender, in Fox. Simmons kicked it to a back-peddling J.J. Redick who was unable to get a clean look at the hoop, thanks to an excellent close out by Fox.
Redick got the ball to Joel Embiid at the elbow with around five seconds to go. Embiid was forced to take a last second fade away jumper that rimmed out, ending the game.
The loss ended the Sixers' five-game winning streak, a game they would have really liked to have with their next two at Golden State and at the Los Angeles Clippers.
Simmons, in just 27 minutes, finished with 18 points, 6 assists, and 2 rebounds on 6-8 shooting. Embiid had 22 points and 15 rebounds in 32 minutes after missing Tuesday's night game due to "load management."
The Kings shot 43.0-percent from the field and went 12-27 from three-point range, but in the first half they shot 50.0-percent from the field, making eight of 12 three's.
The Sixers next play at the Golden State Warriors Saturday at 8:30 p.m. E.T.
