PHILADELPHIA — Jaden Springer unzipped his warmup jacket with more than five minutes left on the clock, signifying that the 76ers’ starters had earned the rest of the night off.
The 76ers had raced out to a big first-half lead against the Sacramento Kings, then rode it to a 123-103 victory Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Center in arguably their most impressive outing of the season so far.
The Sixers (15-12) dominated on both ends of the floor against Sacramento, which entered Tuesday with a 14-11 record and as one of the NBA’s surprise teams. They shot 51.2% from the floor, including 16-of-35 from three-point range, racked up 23 fast-break points, and totaled 34 assists. On the defensive end, they held the Kings to a 10-of-42 mark from three-point distance and forced 17 turnovers that led to 25 points.
The Sixers built a massive advantage with a 23-5 run to start the second quarter, capped by a Joel Embiid free throw to make the score 62-37 midway through the period. A thunderous Tobias Harris alley-oop finish extended that lead to 69-41 about two minutes later.
Sacramento chipped the Sixers’ led down to 105-89 when De’Aaron Fox split two free throws with less than 10 minutes left, but Georges Niang answered with a corner three-pointer; Harris elevated for a one-handed dunk, and James Harden hit a pull-up jumper to push that lead back to 23 points.
Harden finished with 21 points, 15 assists, and five steals, continuing to round into form in his fourth game back from a foot injury. He totaled 17 points, 10 assists, and five steals before the break, becoming the only player since the 1996-97 season to record that stat line in a single half, according to Stathead.
Embiid totaled 31 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the floor and 11-of-13 shooting from the free-throw line, along with seven rebounds. Harris narrowly missed a double-double with 21 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds.
The win lifted the Sixers to 3-0 to begin this seven-game homestand, their longest of the season. Up next is a marquee matchup against the defending-champion Golden State Warriors on Friday night.
Embiid’s encore
After dropping 53 points in Sunday’s win over the Charlotte Hornets, Embiid continued his scoring surge. He has amassed at least 30 points in 11 of his last 12 games played.
A brief return in the fourth quarter allowed him to reach that 30-point benchmark. He checked back in at the 7-minute, 35-second mark, finished inside less than a minute later, and sat back down for the remainder of the night less than 30 seconds after that.
The MVP runner-up’s fadeaway jumper on the Sixers’ first possession indicated he would largely pick up where he left off Sunday. He scored 16 in that opening frame, going 4-of-5 from the floor and 8-of-9 from the free-throw stripe.
Setting the tone
The Sixers’ 41-point outburst in the second quarter created an insurmountable cushion, and their nearly-as-potent first quarter set the tone.
They shot 59.1% in that period and scored 39 points, their highest-scoring opening frame since March 27, 2022 at the Phoenix Suns. Embiid and Harris combined for 30 of those points.
What kept the Kings temporarily in the game: six offensive rebounds in that quarter, for a 12-2 advantage in second-chance points.
Thybulle starts
With De’Anthony Melton (back stiffness) and Danuel House Jr. (foot laceration) nursing injuries, Matisse Thybulle moved into the starting lineup and finished with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting in 22 minutes.
His overall performance made up for a rough start for the defensive wing, who picked up two fouls in the game’s first 37 seconds and missed a layup attempt off a lob pass. That made Shake Milton a quick sub.
Thybulle reentered the game early in the second quarter and did not pick up his third foul until there were less than three minutes to go before the break. He was on the receiving end of one of Harden’s more impressive assists, a touchdown-style pass for a fast-break layup.
In the second half, Thybulle scored nine points, including a 3-of-4 mark from beyond the arc.
