Still searching for the first win of their East Coast road trip, the Sacramento Kings were barely able to escape Philadelphia with a win.
Tyrese Maxey’s tough lefty and-one floater with seconds remaining broke a tie, ending his night with a game-high 40 points on 12-of-18 shooting as the Kings fell 113-111. Joel Embiid added 37 points, eight assists, and five rebounds on 13-of-21 shooting.
Dennis Schroder ended up with a season-high 27 points, with DeMar DeRozan adding 25 of his own in the loss.
Despite shooting 50 percent from the field and securing 15 offensive rebounds, Sacramento’s fourth-quarter scoring struggles reappeared as they were outpaced 25-19 in the final frame.
After taking the lead by converting 72 percent of their looks in the third, it was a disappointing way to secure their seventh straight loss — depending on how you look at it.
Sacramento Kings @ Philadelphia 76ers Game Notes
Playing against one more talented Eastern Conference team, Sacramento was without Keegan Murray (left ankle), Malik Monk (right ankle), and Russell Westbrook (right foot).
Given those inabilities, there was a heavier reliance on their remaining guards. Yet, the most talented guard in the game was Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey.
The soon-to-be All-Star starter managed two triples less than three minutes into the action. He’s one of the best players in the league at capitalizing in transition, and a few too many turnovers helped him get rolling.
3️⃣ x2 for @TyreseMaxey !! pic.twitter.com/rbq4WPhqrg
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) January 30, 2026
But the Kings kept up as Dennis Schroder found his way to the basket, and they moved the ball smoothly.
Of course, slowing down former Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid was essential as well. Domantas Sabonis drew that matchup, often not requiring double-teams when posted up.
It did, however, lead to him having early foul trouble. By midway through the opening frame, rookie Dylan Cardwell replaced Sabonis while Zach LaVine simultaneously made his first appearance of the night.
LaVine came off the bench for just the second time this season, both occasions coming after missing time with injury.
Unsurprisingly, Emiid went right at Cardwell and had mixed results. With 3:17 left to play, the Kings faced a 20-15 deficit as Maxey (9) and Embiid (6) had combined to equal Sacramento’s tally.
As Schroder headed to the bench not long after, Christie’s squad was left without a true point guard on the floor. DeRozan embraced that added responsibility, and his typical crafty and patient nature led to mid-range conversions and trips to the charity stripe.
slow & steady wins the bucket pic.twitter.com/7E7T6G3tRU
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) January 30, 2026
Right before the end of one, Embiid picked up his second personal foul as his side held a 28-25 advantage. DeRozan had 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
The second was largely more of the same, as Maxey and Embiid continued to account for the majority of their team’s offense while DeRozan and Schroder helped their side maintain striking distance.
Paul George made a few buckets, but it felt like Maxey was on fire the entire night, pulling with confidence and proving why he’s been one of the league’s premier scorers all season.
He — and a couple of Sacramento turnovers — helped Philadelphia go on a quick run to take a 36-29 lead, their largest up to that point.
For the Kings, getting to the free-throw line made the difference as Sabonis and DeRozan drew contact. Adam Bona, specifically, backing up Embiid, tallied a few too many off-ball whistles and enabled the Kings to enter the bonus with more than six minutes remaining in the frame.
As Maxey continued rolling, Sacramento began sending more double teams and attempting to force others to beat them. Given how much damage he’d done up to that point, reaching that point was inevitable.
While the Kings led for less than a minute in the first half, they remained competitive and trailed 60-54 at halftime. Securing nine offensive rebounds for 11 second-chance points was essential.
DeRozan (21) and Schroder (14) led Sacramento, while Maxey (23) and Embiid (19) did damage on the other end.
That more than 60 percent of their team’s buckets are coming from two players each. Embiid did record his third personal just seconds before the halftime buzzer.
Care to guess what the 76ers went to start the third? If you said a Maxey, Embiid pick-and-roll, then you’ve been paying attention.
After allowing rookie VJ Edgecombe to walk into an easy half-court floater, Christie called an early timeout to rally the troops.
The pressure that DeRozan and Schroder were drawing was used to create looks for their teammates, with Sabonis being a primary beneficiary in the third.
Deebo ➡️ Domas https://t.co/4M7Y2tIPk2 pic.twitter.com/GofVrXIldE
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) January 30, 2026
Add in their continued impact of the offensive glass and a 9-2 run allowed Sacramento to tie the game at 70 with 6:49 to play.
Sabonis recorded his fourth foul, prompting him to head to the sideline, and Cardwell entered. Unfortunately, the rookie picked up his own fourth and fifth fouls quickly after.
But not before a Schroder triple gave the Kings their first lead (77-75) since the scoreboard read 13-12. Schroder was up to 4/5 from beyond the arc at that point.
Even when he sat down as well, Sacramento’s second unit, which featured neither of their two stars of the night, began to find a rhythm.
LaVine started to look comfortable, Raynaud finished playing, and Ellis added a triple. While allowing Philadelphia to shoot 61.1 percent from the field wasn’t ideal, the Kings converted 72.7 percent of their looks and pulled down another five offensive rebounds in the third quarter.
Outscoring their opposition 38-28 in the frame, they aimed to hold onto a narrow 92-88 advantage.
Going 4-of-5 from the field and forcing four 76ers’ turnovers led to a 9-0 run and their first double-digit lead of the night (103-92).
Yet, Embiid was persistent in attacking Sacramento’s rookie big men at every opportunity he got. Whistles tightened up against their favor as well.
As the Kings finally started to miss shots and commit a few turnovers, Embiid’s 31st point brought it back within four. Schroder re-entered the action and immediately halted Philadelphia’s 9-0 run as the Kings led 105-101 with five minutes left.
Christie elected to close with Schroder, LaVine, DeRozan, Achiuwa, and Sabonis. An inability to protect the rim led to Cardwell entering in place of Achiuwa.
While he added more resistance, the 76ers kept rolling and capitalizing on Sacramento turnovers. DeRozan fed LaVine a wide-open triple, which he converted, to give the Kings a two-point lead with under two minutes to play.
Maxey responded by earning his way to the line, and a few more misses later, the Kings left the ball in Philadelphia’s hands as the scoreboard was tied at 111 with 5.2 seconds remaining.
Who else but the star of the night, Maxey, to find his way to the basket and secure a tough and-one layup off the glass with his left hand.
Tyrese Maxey’s tough lefty and-one floater with seconds remaining broke a tie, ending his night with a game-high 40 points on 12-of-18 shooting as the Kings fell 113-111. Joel Embiid added 37 points, eight assists, and five rebounds on 13-of-21 shooting.
TYRESE MAXEY HITS THE GO-AHEAD LAYUP TO WIN IT FOR THE SIXERS 🚨
HE FINISHED WITH 40 PTS! pic.twitter.com/Z3kHeFP5yK
— NBA (@NBA) January 30, 2026
Dennis Schroder ended up with a season-high 27 points, with DeMar DeRozan adding 25 of his own in the loss.
Despite shooting 50 percent from the field and securing 15 offensive rebounds, Sacramento’s fourth-quarter scoring struggles reappeared as they were outpaced 25-19 in the final frame.
After taking the lead by converting 72 percent of their looks in the third, it was a disappointing way to secure their seventh straight loss — depending on how you look at it.
The Kings will be right back in action tomorrow night as they face the defending champion Boston Celtics in TD Garden.
More Sacramento Kings coverage on Sactown Sports
With the NBA trade deadline looming just eight days away, it’s known that plenty of the Sacramento Kings players are available in deals. But, as the cliche goes, it takes two to tango.
Finding another organization willing to take on the sizeable contracts of Zach LaVine, Domantas Sabonis, Malik Monk, DeMar DeRozan, or Dennis Schroder isn’t an easy task. That may be the primary reason that their most likely player to be moved is Keon Ellis.
With Ellis being on an expiring minimum contract ($2.3 million), he’s easy for the team to acquire. If a team were to trade for him, they would also obtain his bird rights, allowing them to go over the salary cap to re-sign him.
Given that flexibility, there seems to be a healthy market for Ellis around the league. No team dealing with second-apron limitations could acquire his salary for free, but it still leaves plenty of options.
Read More:
It’s time for the Kings to move on from Keon Ellis
Upcoming Sacramento Kings schedule for the 2025-26 season
Thursday, January 29th – @ Philadelphia 76ers – 4:00 PM PT
Sunday, January 30th – @ Boston Celtics – 4:30 PM PT
Sunday, February 1st – @ Washington Wizards – 3:00 PM PT
Wednesday, February 4th – vs. Memphis Grizzlies – 7:00 PM PT
Friday, February 6th – vs. Los Angeles Clippers – 7:00 PM PT
Thank you for readingSactownSports.com. Follow us onTwitterandGoogle News, and subscribe to ourYouTubechannel.