Shorthanded victory over Sacramento Kings shows Sixers are legitimate contenders

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The 76ers are putting folks on notice.

They’re looking more like legitimate contenders — not just a squad anchored by perennial All-NBAers in Joel Embiid and James Harden. That was a takeaway from Saturday night’s 129-127 victory over the Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Center, accomplished without Embiid and Harden playing a single minute.

“It just shows you we’re a real deep team,” Montrezl Harrell said.

The victory, combined with the Milwaukee Bucks’ loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, gives the Sixers (30-16) sole possession of second place in the Eastern Conference. The Bucks (29-17) are a game back.

“We’re not even worked about that,” Danuel House Jr said of the standings.

» READ MORE: Sixers vs. Sacramento Kings takeaways: Tyrese Maxey’s dominance, P.J. Tucker’s leadership, resilient team

And that’s understandable, considering there are 36 games remaining in the regular season.

But the team’s record when Harden and Embiid both don’t play is telling. The Sixers improved to 4-2 without their cornerstones.

They lost to the New York Knicks, 106-104, on Nov. 4 at the Wells Fargo Center in their first game without them. The Sixers’ other setback was a 107-101 road loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Nov. 23. That came one night after an emotional victory over former teammate Ben Simmons and the Brooklyn Nets. Tyrese Maxey was also sidelined during that back-to-back.

Since then, the Sixers have won three straight games without their two All-Stars.

“We’re deep,” House said, “and we’re for the team ... It’s trust. We trust in one another. You can tell by the energy and the way the ball is poppin’.”

A lot of people will talk about Maxey’s game-high 32 points in Saturday’s victory. The third-year standout scored 15 of those points in the third quarter.

But this was definitely an all-around team effort.

The Sixers had six double-digit scorers. Paul Reed finished with nine points, seven rebounds, and a block. The team shot 52.7% for the game, including making 12 of 28 three-pointers, and held a 46-29 rebounding advantage.

Harden, a 10-time All-Star guard, was sidelined with right foot tendon strain management, while Embiid, a five-time All-Star, missed the game with left foot injury recovery.

“We run 85 percent of our offense through those two players,” P.J. Tucker said. “So when they go, it’s like what are they going to do? It’s like next man up, everybody lock in to what we want to do, playing together, being a team.”

The Sixers did that after trailing by 21 points in the second quarter. They closed the gap to 10 when House drained a 31-foot, three-pointer at the halftime buzzer.

» READ MORE: The Sixers need to hang on to Tobias Harris — at least through the end of the season

“It’s crazy because we were in the locker room like, ‘Oh, we are going to win this game,’” Tucker said. “Like calm. It’s like no panic. Even without Joel and James, it’s like we are still going to win this game. Guys chip away at it and still [are] able to win this game, and that’s everything.”

Coach Doc Rivers noted the game was one the Sixers would have lost earlier, especially with not having a lot of time to adjust the game plan due to Embiid being a late scratch.

But now, they’re used to playing without key players. So they have that next-man-up mentality.

“Everybody was ready,” Rivers said. “We didn’t come into the game thinking we had 70 points out; we were not going to win the game. We came into the game thinking: ‘We are going to find a way to win the game.’ And our guys did that.”