Buddy Hield scored 34 points (8 during a 13-0 run in the first quarter), and the Sacramento Kings beat the Philadelphia 76ers 115-108.
Willie Cauley-Stein’s 2 free throws put the Kings ahead for good with 2:20 left in the fourth quarter.
The 76ers got within 111-108 on Jimmy Butler III’s 3-pointer with 52 seconds to play, but Cauley-Stein answered with a free throw, and the 76ers got no closer.
Hield’s 3-pointer with 1:44 left made it 109-105, and his 2 free throws with 26.6 seconds left put it away at 114-108.
During clutch time, the Kings outscored the 76ers 19-13. Hield scored 8 of the Kings’ 19 on 2 for 2 shooting and 2 for 2 at the line.
For the 76ers, Butler had 29 points and 7 assists, and Joel Embiid added 29 points (16 in the paint), 17 rebounds and 4 blocks. Ben Simmons had 22 points and 8 rebounds. Butler scored 18 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter. The 76ers had 3 20-point scorers.
The Kings shot 45.7% from the field and 36.7% from 3 to the 76ers’ 44.1% and 21.2%. The Kings outscored the 76ers 22-12 in 7 minutes with Bogdanović, Hield, Fox, Giles and Bagley on the floor together.