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Looking to Head Home With Third Straight Win

Scene Setter

The 76ers’ (34-18) week of traversing through the Western Conference comes to an end Saturday, when they visit the Sacramento Kings (26-25) at the Golden 1 Center.

The matchup offers the Sixers a chance to finish 3-1 on their four-game trip, and back up Thursday’s hallmark win at Golden State, 114-103.

Newly-minted 2019 All-Stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons scored 26 apiece against the defending champions. Embiid grabbed 20 boards, while Simmons recorded eight rebounds, six assists and three steals in a performance Brett Brown called one of the Australian’s best yet.

Prior to Thursday’s game, the Warriors had won 10 straight over the Sixers, a streak beginning in 2013. The last time the Sixers beat the Warriors in Oakland was Dec. 31, 2011.

“They showed a lot of togetherness,” Brown said of his team. “Every possession when Golden State comes at you, you are just so nervous that there is going to be some three launch because there are so many capable scorers. You just have to withstand it.”

The Sixers held the Warriors to 28.9 percent from beyond the arc, well below Golden State’s 38.7 percent average.

Saturday’s contest will be the first meeting between the Sixers and Kings this season. Last year, the Kings won both of their matchups against the Sixers.

The Sixers have won seven of their last nine, having gone 11-4 in the month of January.

Both Wilson Chandler (right quad) and JJ Redick (planned rest) have been ruled out for Saturday’s game. Mike Muscala and Landry Shamet are slated to start in their places, respectively.

Opponent Outlook

The Kings finished 4-2 on their six-game January road trip, then returned home to beat the Atlanta Hawks (16-34) on Wednesday, 113-135. Forward Harry Giles scored a career-high 20 points in the contest and grabbed seven rebounds. The backcourt duo of De’Aaron Fox (17.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.7 spg) and Buddy Hield (20.2 ppg) led the Kings to become one of the season’s early surprises. They won six of their first nine games.

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