Fox, Kings stun Sixers in closing seconds to snap five-game win streak

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By Josh Liddick, Sports Talk Philly editor 

There wasn't a whole lot that was pretty in the Philadelphia 76ers' (6-5) 109-108 loss to the Sacramento Kings (3-8) on Thursday night that snapped a five-game winning streak, in fact, the team just wasn't playing at that same aggressive level that we have been used to seeing so far this season.

The Sixers were led by Robert Covington who absolutely wowed shooting the ball during the game. At times, he looked like the best player out on the court.

Covington had a game-high 24 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the field. He went 6-of-12 from three-point range. Towards the beginning of the contest, Covington had a stretch where he scored two three pointers in a span of 30 seconds, both being four-point plays.

It's rare to draw two fouls from beyond the arc, let alone two of them.

Joel Embiid didn't shoot the ball efficiently, but he finished the game with 22 points and 15 boards. Embiid quite frankly looked gassed out on the floor. He missed the Sixers' game on Tuesday against the Jazz due to rest, but it honestly looked as if he could've used an extra day off.

The question is still lingering around about whether Embiid is fully conditioned from his season-ending knee injury from last season. He just doesn't look like the same dominant player that we saw out of him back in January.

Here are a few additional main points surrounding the Sixers loss at the hands of the Kings, who got the win off a game-winning basket from De'Aaron Fox in the closing seconds of the game.


Ben Simmons in foul trouble in a deal-breaker for success

Whether it was actual bad calls from the officials or purely just bad luck, Ben Simmons was unable to catch any breaks with fouls during the game.

He caught three fouls early on and wasn't able to gather himself to get into any sort of groove. He showed flashes of offensive prowess, but when he tried to make moves, he was called for contact.

This hurt the Sixers pace and flow of the game, and quite frankly, without Simmons on the floor, the Sixers had a very difficult time with efficient ball facilitating. A lot of turnovers were committed in Simmons' absence.

When Simmons picked up his fourth foul, it happened very early in the start of the third quarter. We didn't see Simmons again until basically the final quarter.

Simmons shot the ball well, going 6-of-8 from the field, but he didn't have that dominant night we had hoped to see. He finished with 18 points, six assists, two rebounds, and two steals.


Bench struggles were an issue

Obviously, the Sixers aren't well known for stellar bench play, but they have been improving game-by-game.

Tonight, the bench pretty much was reverted back to the Sixers' bench of old. 

The bench went 6-of-18 from the field, combined for 17 of the Sixers' 108 points, and went 3-of-7 from long range.

The most impressive player on the Sixers' bench that played the biggest role in his 17 minutes of action was Justin Anderson. He only had six points, but he managed to bring down 10 rebounds.

T.J. McConnell had four points, five rebounds, and six assists on the night.


The Kings' bench, on the other hand, was a highlight

The Sixers may have had their fair share of struggles on their bench, but the Kings' bench may have won them the game. Two of Sacramento's leading scorers came off of their bench. Justin Jackson had 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, and De'Aaron Fox had 11 points and seven assists.

Kosta Koufos was a big part of the Kings' success, and was featured on the Sixers Radio Network's Post-Game Show as a Player of the Game. Koufos had eight points, 12 rebounds, and three assists in 21 minutes played.

Buddy Hield and Malachi Richardson each finished with eight points off the bench.


Sixers Team Stats & Interesting factoids (from @SixersStats)

The Sixers shot 37-of-87 (42.5 percent) from the field, 15-of-37 (40.5 percent) from three, and went 19-of-27 (70.4 percent) as a team from the charity stripe.

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