Malik Monk made key plays in the final moments to help the Sacramento Kings beat the Philadelphia 76ers 113-107 on Wednesday night.
Monk scored a go-ahead basket on a goaltended layup with 33.8 seconds left, then stole the ball from Paul George seven seconds later. He teamed up with DeMar DeRozan to make four free throws that sealed the win.
Sacramento scored the last 15 points of the game to secure their second straight victory.
The 76ers, playing the first game of a back-to-back, decided to sit Joel Embiid, who had been averaging 26.3 points during a four-game win streak. Embiid’s absence allowed George, who scored 30 points, and Tyrese Maxey, who added 27 points, to lead the team.
Despite this, the 76ers led for most of the second half after tying the game 57-all at halftime. They were up by 10 points in the final period and held a 107-98 lead with 3:34 left before Sacramento made its comeback.
De’Aaron Fox started the rally with a floater, followed by two free throws from Monk and a 3-pointer from Keon Ellis. A basket by DeRozan tied the game at 107 with one minute remaining.
Maxey missed a short jumper that could have given the 76ers the lead again. This set the stage for Monk to score and give the Kings their first lead since the start of the third quarter.
Monk’s steal from George came during a scoreless finish for the 76ers, who committed five turnovers and had just four shot attempts in the final minutes.
Fox led Sacramento with 35 points, hitting 13 of his 16 shots. Domantas Sabonis grabbed a game-high 21 rebounds and added 17 points along with seven assists. Monk finished with 20 points, DeRozan had 18, and Trey Lyles contributed 12 points for the Kings, who are now 2-1 under interim coach Doug Christie.
For the 76ers, Eric Gordon had 14 points, Caleb Martin scored 12, and Andre Drummond posted 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Maxey also had six assists and four steals in the loss, as Philadelphia fell to 7-13 in games without Embiid.
