It would take a serious talking to by Brett Brown at half time, but the Sixers would snap back from a terrible 2nd quarter and take over the second half. Philadelphia picked up their 15th victory on the year, beating Sacramento 114-107.
Philly emerged with a renewed defensive intensity and offensive spark which led to a 37-18 3rd quarter. The Sixers commanded a 45-16 run the spanned the 3rd and 4th quarter. The Kings would crawl back from a 13 point 4th deficit of their own thanks to a dominant performance from Cousins. Sacramento cut it to 3 points with 1:15 remaining but Ish Smith, Covington, and Noel would all cash in from foul line within the final 30 seconds to hold on to the win.
Nerlens Noel led the Sixers, recording yet another double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. The rookie also contributed 4 assists and 1 block.
Philly shot an efficient 47% FG and held Sacramento to 40%. The 76ers also forced their opponent to commit 17 turnovers compared to their 15.
Robert Covington led Philly in scoring with 24 points. RoCo did his damage from behind the line, knocking down 6 of his 12 three-point attempts while also swiping 3 steals.
The Sixers' reserves provided valuable minutes in relief, accounting for 47 points. Ish Smith ran the second unit well, and finished with 10 points and 9 assists. Thomas Robinson secured 11 rebounds while Jerami Grant scored 13 points and had 4 blocks.
Cousins and Gay were the only effective starters for Sacramento. DeMarcus Cousins had a Shaq-like performance finished with 39 points and 24 rebounds. Rudy Gay chipped in 24 points in the loss.
The Sixers will continue their homestand against the Nets (25-38) on Saturday .
By: Matt Ryan