PHILADELPHIA — Minus three starters, the 76ers were still able to take advantage of facing the NBA’s worst defensive team.
The depleted lineup set the tone early with a 42-21 first-quarter advantage and coasted against the defensive deficient Sacramento Kings with a convincing 129-105 win Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
Less than an hour before the game, the Sixers announced that Ben Simmons would be sidelined due to left knee soreness. Simmons joined starters Joel Embiid and Seth Curry on the sidelines.
Embiid missed his fourth straight game with a bone bruise in his left knee. Curry was out with a left ankle sprain. Both Embiid and Curry will also be out for Sunday’s game in Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks. There was no immediate word on Simmons’ status.
Joining Tobias Harris and Danny Green in the starting lineup were center Tony Bradley and guards Matisse Thybulle and usual sixth man Shake Milton.
Sacramento (17-25) entered the game with some momentum, a two-game winning streak with victories on Wednesday in Washington and Friday in Boston.
This is a little familiar, with the Kings having momentum entering a game against the Sixers earlier this season.
The last time the two teams met, the Kings were 12-11 and riding a four-game winning streak. The Sixers won that game, 119-111, on Feb. 9, the beginning of a nine-game losing skid for Sacramento.
Sacramento entered the game allowing 118.1 points per 100 possessions.
The Sixers (29-13) came out firing, shooting 16 for 26 (61.5%) from the field, including 6 of 8 (75%) from beyond the arc in the first quarter. Danny Green hit all three of his 3-point shots and scored 11 first-quarter points. Entering the game, the Sixers were 14-3 when Green scores 10 or more points. He finished with 18 points.
The Sixers, who are now 19-4 at home, held serve in the second quarter and led, 73-51, at halftime. Harris had 23 of his game-high 29 points at intermission. The only reason the Kings weren’t totally out of it by halftime was Buddy Hield, who made 6 of 9 shots from three-point range.
The Sixers led by as many as 36 points in the third quarter and took a 106-80 advantage heading into the fourth.
When the Sixers weren’t hitting 3s, they were driving freely to the basket. With Sacramento offering such little resistance to the Sixers’ drives, one can see why the Kings are ther NBA’s worst defensive team.
Sacramento has the NBA’s longest current playoff drought, 14 seasons. Unless the Kings all of a sudden begin playing better defense, Luke Walton’s crew will again be postseason bystanders.
This ended a four-game homestand. Sunday’s game in New York is the beginning of a season-long six-game road trip.
Milton finished with 28 points for the Sixers.
Buddy Hield led the Kings with 25 points.
