The Philadelphia 76ers and Sacramento Kings both end 2024 on a high note and hope to continue their good form into the new year when they meet on Wednesday night.
The game features two coaches with strong ties to the Toronto Raptors: the 76ers’ Nick Nurse, who spent 10 years with the team, including five as head coach, and Kings interim coach Doug Christie, who was part of the Raptors’ 2000 playoff team and played over four seasons in Toronto.
In his second year coaching the 76ers, Nurse has turned the team around. After a rough 3-14 start, they’ve won 10 of their last 13 games. They are currently on a four-game winning streak, including three straight road wins to start a four-game Western road trip.
Tyrese Maxey (30.0 points per game) and Joel Embiid (26.3) have been the stars during this stretch, though Embiid (sprained left foot) will not play on Wednesday. Paul George has been a solid contributor, averaging 31.3 minutes per game.
However, the biggest positive for the team has been the play of Caleb Martin. Martin’s return to full health has been a key factor in the 76ers’ improvement.
“I had a sigh of relief for him,” George said after Martin hit a career-high seven 3-pointers in a Christmas Day win over the Boston Celtics. “Just to watch him battle and work and just put countless hours on getting his body together. He’s a warrior.
It was eating away at him that he couldn’t be himself and he couldn’t be available for us. Again, he’s a warrior, so he’s ready when he’s called upon.”
Martin has averaged 11.8 points during the winning streak, shooting 56.7% from the field and 12-for-18 from beyond the arc. He’s also contributed with 15 rebounds, four steals, and four blocks in the last four games. He posted a team-best plus-27 plus/minus in 38 minutes during Monday’s 125-103 win over Portland.
Meanwhile, the Kings are coming off a much-needed victory. They snapped a six-game losing streak with a 110-100 win over the Dallas Mavericks, giving Doug Christie his first home win as interim coach. Christie took over as interim coach after the Kings fired Mike Brown following their fifth straight loss, a 114-113 defeat to the Detroit Pistons.
Despite only making slight adjustments to the game plan, the Kings responded well to Christie’s leadership. Domantas Sabonis, who had a triple-double in the win, credited the change in emotion and voice as key to the team’s improved performance.
“We’ve spent three summers now with him,” Sabonis said of Christie. “He works his butt off, and just to see him installing what he believes in the guys, and the guys reacting that quickly to it, is awesome.”
The Kings are hoping to build on their win against the Mavericks, but their recent history with the 76ers isn’t great. The Kings ended a 10-game losing streak to the 76ers last March. The Kings hadn’t beaten Philadelphia since February 2019. In the last meeting in Sacramento, Sabonis had a triple-double, and Embiid did not play in the Kings’ 108-96 win.
The Kings may be without starting forward Keegan Murray (11.6 points, 7.4 rebounds per game), who is listed as doubtful for the game due to left ankle soreness.
