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Maxey ‘finally' being a PG, more to watch before Sixers-Kings

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The Sixers’ three-point shooting took care of business against the Lakers, who did not have LeBron James (knee soreness). Joel Embiid needed to post just 26 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists to secure this win.

The day after ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Kings have ended their pursuit of a Ben Simmons trade, Sacramento is set to play the Sixers in snowy Philadelphia.

Here are the essentials for Saturday night's game:

  • When: 7:30 p.m. ET with Sixers Pregame Live at 7 p.m.
  • Where: Wells Fargo Center 
  • Broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia 
  • Live stream: NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com and the MyTeams app 

And here’s more on the matchup: 

Maxey the PG, ‘finally’ 

Tyrese Maxey dished out a career-high 10 assists Thursday in the Sixers’ win over the Lakers. He also copped some good-natured ribbing from Joel Embiid. 

“It’s funny, because I actually mentioned it to him today when I saw him. I was like, ‘Thank you for finally being a point guard and passing the ball,’” Embiid said with a smile. “He’s been doing it all season. It might not show up in the box score, but he’s been getting better as a point guard, just running the team. 

“A lot of things don’t show up in the box score, but you can see on the floor he’s learning every single day — just calling plays, getting guys into sets and getting guys where they should be. So I think his growth … I’ve been excited to just be part of it. I’m happy that every single day, he’s making the strides to improve in every aspect of his game.”

In the nine games since returning from an asymptomatic case of COVID-19, Maxey has played 38.4 minutes per contest, averaged 15.4 points, shot 48.6 percent from three point-range and posted a 5.1/1.0 assist-to-turnover ratio.

He led the Sixers to a November victory in Sacramento without Embiid, Tobias Harris, Seth Curry and Danny Green, recording 24 points and four assists. 

Injury news

Green and Matisse Thybulle have recently returned from injuries, and it appears Curry will be next up.

Curry was listed as questionable for Saturday with left ankle soreness. He’s missed the past four games after playing in 40 of the Sixers’ first 44. Head coach Doc Rivers said Thursday that Curry likely couldn’t have played against the Lakers even if it was a playoff game, but the 31-year-old’s questionable status indicates he’s moved in the right direction since. Shake Milton (back contusion) remains out. 

De’Aaron Fox and Chimezie Metu were questionable for the Kings because of left ankle soreness and left knee soreness, respectively. Terence Davis is out with a right wrist injury. The Kings gave rookie guard Davion Mitchell his second NBA start Wednesday in a loss to the Hawks. 

Will Sixers still have Kings’ number? 

The Sixers have beaten the Kings six straight times. Sacramento hasn’t won in Philadelphia since Dec. 19, 2017, when Zach Randolph scored a game-high 27 points.

The Kings are 18-32 and have lately been even worse than that record. The team is on a five-game losing streak and fell by 53 points Tuesday to the Celtics. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Kings rank 29th in defensive rating. They were 30th for the 2020-21 season.

In contrast, the Sixers have won 13 of 16 games. It would be tempting for the Sixers to look past Sacramento and ahead to a juicy matchup Monday with the Grizzlies, but every game on the schedule counts the same. 

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