76ers at Kings
The Philadelphia 76ers have not been playing like a team worried about maximizing its number of ping pong balls in the draft lottery of late but are still struggling to win on the road. The 76ers will try to snap a 15-game road losing streak when they visit the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday. The Kings are still fighting to the finish as well and have taken their last two games by a combined 33 points.
Sacramento stepped up against two potential Eastern Conference playoff teams over the weekend, knocking off Charlotte 101-91 on Friday before taking out Washington 109-86 on Sunday. Rudy Gay dominated both games offensively and is averaging 27.3 points in three games since returning from a knee injury. Philadelphia is also searching for great individual performances as it builds for the future and point guard Ish Smith is taking advantage of his first shot at extended minutes by averaging 12.7 points and 6.5 assists this month.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, CSN California (Sacramento)
ABOUT THE 76ERS (17-53): Philadelphia has imported a series of players like Smith that did not get a chance to show off with their former teams and has gotten encouraging signs from the likes of Robert Covington, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Thomas Robinson. Robinson was cast aside by Portland and then Denver at the trade deadline but seems to have found a spot with the 76ers and went for 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting in a loss at the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. “He’s been great when you give him those few eight-minute sections and nine-minute sections when he’s not playing big minutes,” Philadelphia coach Brett Brown told reporters of Robinson. “He gives you that energy and that toughness. He’s been good for us since he’s arrived.”
ABOUT THE KINGS (24-45): Gay has scored at least 20 points in his last eight games and has been at his best in the last two wins, totaling 59 points on 21-of-39 shooting. Gay got some help against Washington on Sunday, when center DeMarcus Cousins (calf) returned from a two-game absence and put up 20 points in 23 minutes. Sacramento is trying to finish out a five-game homestand with a winning record after dropping the first two and is looking for its first three-game winning streak since November.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The 76ers have won in their last two trips to Sacramento, including a 113-104 win last season.
2. Kings G Ben McLemore is 5-of-9 from 3-point range in the last two games after going 1-of-11 in his previous four contests.
3. Philadelphia G Isaiah Canaan is 11-of-44 from the field in the last four games.