Kings Fall Short In Philadelphia
Mar 15, 2019, 6:50 PM
(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
The Sacramento Kings kept it close all game in Philadelphia on Friday but couldn’t break through as they dropped the final game of a four game road trip to the 76ers by a final of 123-114.
Sacramento will return home to face the Chicago Bulls on Sunday after going 1-3 on the road trip.
We could watch @HGiiizzle throw passes all night 😍 pic.twitter.com/Q5cyBut33P
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) March 15, 2019
The 76ers starting five all scored 18 points or more, led by 22 points from Jimmy Butler and 21 points from Joel Embiid to go along with 17 rebounds. JJ Redick and Tobias Harris scored 19 points each while Ben Simmons added 18 points of his own as Philadelphia improved to 44-25 on the season, including improving to a 28-9 record on their home floor.
Sacramento had no scoring outbursts on Friday, led by 16 points from both De’Aaron Fox and Harrison Barnes. Buddy Hield and Bogdan Bogdanovic struggled, shooting a combined 8-of-28 from the field, including 3-of-13 from beyond the three-point line. Willie Cauley-Stein added 13 points and 7 rebounds for the Kings, who lost for the ninth time over their past twelve contests.
The rookies from Duke came to play in Philly, as Marvin Bagley III scored 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting while Harry Giles III scored 14 points to go along with 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
While the Kings have hit a rough stretch of late, they have competed in every contest to the very end. Sacramento has lost each of their last eight games by an average of 5.25 points. In each of those games, the Kings have had opportunities to win the ball game and fallen short. This is where experience and poise comes into play, something we could see next year’s Kings team take strides in: closing games. There are no moral victories in basketball, but this team is on the right path.
Patience is key.
Coming Up
The Kings come home on Sunday as they will open up a four game homestand against the Chicago Bulls.
Sacramento defeated the Bulls 109-89 back on December 10th in Chicago, and will look to finish off the last leg of the season with a St. Patricks Day victory at Golden 1 Center.
Catch all the action right here on Sports 1140 KHTK, starting with pregame coverage at 2:30pm followed by tipoff at 3:00pm.
