NORTH NATOMAS — The Sacramento Kings knew the Philadelphia 76ers were a dangerous team coming in to Sleep Train Arena on Dec. 30, the last home game of 2015.
The 76ers, who started out with an 0-18 record, showed how venomous they have been in the last few games by beating the Kings 110-105 in front of a sell out crowd.
“Too many times we’ve come out on this court and have been a quiet team, or the soft team or the cool team, and not the man team” said Kings coach George Karl. “I’ll give Philadelphia credit. We saw them play the last two games. Ish Smith made them pretty good.”
Smith, who played for the 76ers last season, but was traded back to the team from New Orleans two games ago, had 18 points and nine assists for the 76ers (3-31).
Nerlens Noel lead Philadelphia with 20 points, nine rebounds, and four steals. Jerami Grant had 16 points, 11 rebounds, and five blocked shots for the team that has all three wins against Western Conference teams.
“It just feels good to come back here and get a win. For three straight games we’ve been playing pretty good basketball and good defense, too,” said Nik Staukas, who was traded to the 76ers from Sacrament. “Coach Brown wants us to force turnovers, get out and run, and use our athleticism to our advantage. Now that we’re turning the corner, hopefully, we can keep this going”
DeMarcus Cousins had 21 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocked shots for the Kings (12-20). Cousins fouled out with 1:47 left in the game when the Kings were down 105-101.
By Antonio R. Harvey
OBSERVER Staff Writer