The Philadelphia 76ers have won consecutive home games against the Los Angeles Lakers and Charlotte Hornets, and now they welcome the Sacramento Kings for the third of seven straight at The Center. The Sixers enter the game with a 14-12 record, while the Kings are currently 14-11.
On Monday afternoon, Joel Embiid earned Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors for the second time this season and ninth time in his career. Notable statistics from the three games that factored in were Embiid’s 43.3 points per game, 10.3 rebounds per game, and .639 field-goal percentage.
The Sixers’ injury report on Monday evening included Danuel House Jr. (probable - left foot laceration) and Tyrese Maxey (out - left foot fracture). Sacramento listed De’Aaron Fox (right foot soreness) as questionable and Alex Len (non-COVID illness) as out. Fox, the leading scorer for the visitors averaging 22.8 points per game, missed their previous two contests.
The Kings fell to the Knicks, 112-99, in New York on Sunday. Domantas Sabonis notched a double-double in defeat with 20 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists.
Sacramento ranks sixth in offensive rating, while the Sixers are fourth in defensive rating.
Embiid became the first player in the NBA this season to post multiple 50-point games by scoring 53 points against the Hornets on Sunday. Earlier this season, the league’s reigning scoring champ delivered a career-high 59 points against Utah.
“We have a saying, ‘you’ve got to feed the hot hand,’” Embiid said postgame. “You have to keep feeding them until the defense stops them once, twice, or three times. I just kept scoring and they just kept giving me the ball.”
“He was in attack mode for the entire game,” James Harden said of Embiid. “He made scoring look easy. I mean he was just in attack mode getting to the basket, and his jumpers were falling. He just had an aggressive night tonight.”
Tuesday’s game is a 7 p.m. ET start in South Philadelphia.
Sunday’s Key Performances:
Joel Embiid
- During his 53-point outing against Charlotte, Embiid shot 20-for-32 from the field, 2-for-3 from 3-point range, and 11-for-11 from the foul line in 34 minutes. His streak of four straight games with at least 35 points is the longest by any player this season.
- Embiid also recorded a game-high-tying 12 rebounds for his 11th double-double.
- After posting a 20-point first quarter Friday against the Lakers, Embiid put together another 20-point frame last time out when the Sixers scored 41 points in the second – their most in a single quarter so far this season.
James Harden
- Harden finished with 19 points (6-12 fg, 3-8 3fg, 4-5 ft), nine rebounds, and a game-high 16 assists in 38 minutes.
- According to Stathead, Harden is now one of 13 players in NBA history with 30 career games of at least 15 points and 15 assists.
Tobias Harris
- Harris tallied 17 points (7-12 fg, 2-5 3fg, 1-1 ft), four rebounds, two assists, a game-high-tying three steals, plus one block in 33 minutes.
De’Anthony Melton
- Headlining the Sixers’ hot start to the second half, Melton connected on four 3-pointers in less than three minutes of game time at the beginning of the third quarter.
- Melton’s final stat line included those 12 points, plus four rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block in 28 minutes as a starter.
Shake Milton/Montrezl Harrell
- Combining for 20 of the team’s 27 bench points, Milton (11 points, three assists) shot 4-for-7, while Harrell (nine points, four assists) went 4-for-5.
76ers vs. Charlotte Hornets: Dec. 11, 2022
@Sixers Social:
Quote to Note:
76ers Head Coach Doc Rivers on the performances from Embiid and the team in the win over the Hornets:
“It's good. He was phenomenal. The team, just offensively, last two games – we [shot] 53% last game, 55% tonight… And, again, like we talked about before about pace – that was pace. We didn't run, we just played with pace. The ball kept moving, kept hitting open guys. De’Anthony Melton’s ability to make shots. James Harden was unbelievable tonight. He was the point guard, the facilitator, and the scorer all at the same time and that's exactly what we're talking about and that was phenomenal. Then Joel Embiid, he literally scored in every way that you can possibly score a basketball tonight. Even the last play was a slot drive and we do that drill everyday, but we do it for the guards. I don't think we've ever done it for the bigs. Maybe we have to add that now because that was terrific.”