Clutch plays by Malik Monk capped a furious finish that allowed the host Sacramento Kings to overtake the Joel Embiid-less Philadelphia 76ers for a 113-107 win on Wednesday.
Monk was credited with a basket on a goaltended layup to break a tie with 33.8 seconds remaining. He stole the ball from Paul George seven seconds later, then teamed with DeMar DeRozan for four clinching free throws.
Sacramento scored the final 15 points of the game to pull out its second consecutive victory.
Playing the front end of a back-to-back set that will see them in action again Thursday against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco, the 76ers opted to sit Embiid after he averaged 26.3 points during a four-game winning streak that ended Wednesday.
With George taking charge by scoring 30 points and Tyrese Maxey adding 27 in Embiid’s 20th absence this season, the 76ers were able to break from a 57-all halftime tie to lead for most of the second half. They were up by as many as 10 in the final period and led 107-98 with just 3:34 remaining before the Kings did the rest of the game’s scoring.
A floater by De’Aaron Fox, two free throws by Monk and a 3-pointer by Keon Ellis got the rally started. A DeRozan hoop knotted the game at 107-all with one minute to play.
Maxey misfired on a short-range jumper at the other end that could have put the visitors back on top, setting the stage for Monk to get inside the Philadelphia defense for his go-ahead points and give the Kings their first lead since the first minute of the third quarter.
Monk’s steal on George came as part of a scoreless finish in which the 76ers had more turnovers (five) than shots attempts (four).
Hitting 13 of his 16 shots, Fox led the way for the Kings with 35 points, while Domantas Sabonis snatched a game-high 21 rebounds to go with 17 points and a game-high seven assists.
Monk finished with 20 points, DeRozan 18 and Trey Lyles 12 for Sacramento, which improved to 2-1 under interim coach Doug Christie.
Eric Gordon had 14 points, Caleb Martin 12 and Andre Drummond 10 to complement a team-high nine rebounds for the 76ers, who fell to 7-13 in Embiid absences.
Maxey found time for a team-high six assists and four steals.
