SACRAMENTO, Calif.

(AP) — Joel Embiid had 25 points, 17 rebounds and helped the Philadelphia 76ers
turn up the defensive intensity in the fourth quarter to beat the Sacramento Kings 119-111 on Tuesday
night. Tobias Harris and Seth Curry each added 22 points as the Sixers used a 10-0 run to take control of
the game in the fourth and win for the sixth time in seven games.

“I loved the defense first,” coach Doc Rivers said. “This is a very good offensive team. Holding them to 20
points in the third and fourth quarter is great. I loved our execution. It’s important at the end of the
game our guys understand who we want to play through and the ball moves from there.”

RELATED:

2021 NCAA Tournament: TV Schedule, Dates, Times, How To Watch

The Kings took a 99-97 lead on a layup by Harrison Barnes with 7:26 to go and then didn’t score again
for nearly three minutes, missing seven straight shots and committing a turnover.

“We just started playing better defense honestly,” Rivers said. “A lot of it too is we kept them out of the
paint. That’s what created a lot of (their) 3s.”

Shake Milton tied the game with a layup and then Harris and Milton hit 3-pointers to put Philadelphia up
six points. Embiid’s two free throws made it 107-99 and the Sixers held on from there to snap
Sacramento’s four-game winning streak.

De’Aaron Fox led the Kings with 34 points and 10 assists. Buddy Hield added 21 points and Marvin
Bagley III had 17.

The Kings shot just 3 for 22 from 3-point range in the second half after making 11 from long range in the
first two quarters. Coach Luke Walton said he believed there might have been some fatigue with his
team playing for the third time in four days.

“We just missed,” Walton said. “We missed shots we’ve been making lately. Maybe we wouldn’t have
won either way but we would have had a better chance if some of those open looks had gone in.”

The Sixers built a 14-point lead early in the second quarter before the Kings responded and went up 66-
61 on successive 3-points from Fox, Hield and Tyrese Haliburton in the span of less than a minute.