Tonight, the Kings used big scoring games from Zach Randolph, Frank Mason III, and Buddy Hield, along with solid contributions from Garrett Temple and Malachi Richardson to overcome a 16 point deficit in Philadelphia.

The game started well enough for Sacramento as Z-Bo was able to take advantage of an Embiid-less Sixers team early and often. He scored a smooth 13 points on only seven field goal attempts in the first quarter and the Kings held a 30-27 lead after one.

The second quarter was a totally different and rather ugly affair. The Kings couldn’t generate any offense no matter what they attempted, even missing all of their free throws in the period, Philadelphia won the second period 30-18, and had a 57-48 lead at halftime.

The second half looked as though it would be much the same. The Kings turned the ball over three consecutive times to start the third, which allowed the Sixers to build a 16 point lead just three minutes into the quarter. Two minutes later, Dave Joerger made an interesting personnel choice which would pay huge dividends.

After sitting for seven consecutive contests, Malachi Richardson entered the game for Willie Cauley-Stein with 7:07 left in the third quarter. He didn’t leave the game again, playing the final 19 minutes. In that time span, the Kings outscored the 76ers by 17 points, and while it certainly wasn’t all due to our sophomore wing, his length and intensity on the defensive end clearly bothered Philadelphia.

The fourth quarter was all Kings. Garrett Temple hit some tough, clutch shots down the stretch, scoring all 8 of his points in the final twelve minutes, and Sacramento outscored Brett Brown’s team 30-17 to avenge their horrific second quarter. Buddy Hield ended the game with 24 points, while Frank Mason scored 16 of his own on just 9 shots, in 22 minutes of play.

Highlight of the night:

Frank with the block! Buddy with the triple! pic.twitter.com/RxuwwQexDq

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) December 20, 2017

Next Game: Tomorrow, December 20th, against the Nets at 4:30pm PT

Game Notes: