Kings at 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers hope to have star center Joel Embiid back in the lineup when then they host Sacramento on Monday in a game that was rescheduled from its original date. Embiid (knee) has missed four of the last five games - including Sunday's 121-108 loss in Chicago - while sneaking in a 32-point performance against Houston on Friday, and he didn't make the trip to see his team fall to the Bulls.
All five starters for Philadelphia scored at least 12 points, led by Ersan Ilyasova's 31, as the team dropped its 12th straight to Chicago. The Kings have won three of their last four to improve to 3-3 on their eight-game road trip, which ends Tuesday in Houston. "Guys have been great lately," star forward DeMarcus Cousins told reporters after posting 35 points and 18 rebounds in Saturday's 109-106 win at Charlotte. "They are believing. Their confidence is high, which we need, and we're just on the right path and we feel it." This contest was originally scheduled for Nov. 30 but condensation on the floor at the Wells Fargo Center made for an unsafe environment and the teams were forced to squeeze it in at a later date.
TV: 6 p.m. ET, CSN California (Sacramento), CSN Philly (Philadelphia)
ABOUT THE KINGS (19-28): Four other players scored at least 13 points in Saturday's win, and Cousins was pleased to get the support. "We are realizing what is going to win us games and it's not iso(lation) basketball," he told reporters. "When we are making the defense work and getting the best shot for the team and just finding the open man, we are realizing that is working for us." Darren Collison led that quartet with 17 points and he is averaging 22 on 59.5 percent shooting in the last three games.
ABOUT THE 76ERS (17-29): Ilyasova's 31 points were a season high and he threw in 11 rebounds, his best total of the month. He and his fellow starters combined to shoot 51.4 percent against the Bulls and the bench finished 6-for-25. Point guard T.J. McConnell continued his impressive play with 12 assists, giving him an average of 10.8 over the past five games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Cousins had 30 points and Embiid finished with 25 in the first meeting of the season, a 102-100 win for Sacramento at home.
2. 76ers SG Gerald Henderson had scored in double figures in a season-high four straight games before being held scoreless in nine minutes against Chicago.
3. Kings F Anthony Tolliver has hit 6-of-11 from 3-point range over the past two contests.