A monster game by Joel Embiid — 42 points and 17 rebounds — lifted the Philadelphia 76ers to a 128-107 victory over the Sacramento Kings. It was close for a while, but the 76ers pulled away in the second half.
The Kings had another subpar shooting night, hitting on 41.1% of their attempts. The 76ers were at 53.1%.
Six Kings scored in double-figures, led by Peja Stojakovic’s 20 points and Mitch Richmond’s 19 points. Allen Iverson added 20 points for the 76ers.
The 76ers got out to an early 14-8 lead, but the first quarter would feature four lead changes after that and Philadelphia ended the quarter with a 32-29 lead.
The second quarter was close throughout. The Kings took their only lead at 48-46 after back-to-back three-pointers by Richmond and Stojakovic. There were six ties the rest of the way, and Philadelphia went in front 60-58 at the break. Embiid had 23 points and 11 rebounds at halftime.
Like the second quarter, the Kings only led once briefly in the third. A 6-1 run capped off by a Vlade Divac basket put Sacramento up 69-68. The 76ers came back with baskets by Hersey Hawkins and Joel Embiid, and they never trailed again. It was just a one-point game with four minutes to go in the quarter, but the 76ers went on a 9-2 run to go up 88-80. Iverson ended the quarter with a three-pointer to give the 76ers their first double-digit lead at 94-82.
The Kings got no closer than seven points in the fourth quarter. Philadelphia led by as many as 22. The 76ers outscored the Kings 34-25 in the fourth quarter and 68-49 in the second half.
Next up: the Phoenix Suns.
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 