Sixers ride hot start to a 123-103 victory over the Sacramento Kings

From the bench, Jaden Springer unzipped his warmup jacket with more than five minutes left on the clock, signifying that the 76ers’ starters had earned the rest of the night off.

From the locker room a short time later, another karaoke performance from reserve center Montrezl Harrell broke out.

And from the press conference room a few minutes after that, James Harden snuck up behind Joel Embiid — who was bent over at the waist with his forearms resting on top of the table — and smacked him on the bottom.

Those were all celebratory results of perhaps the Sixers’ most impressive outing of the season. They raced out to a big first-half lead against the feisty Sacramento Kings, then rode it to a 123-103 victory Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

“That’s how we need to play,” Embiid said. “ ... For us to win, we’ve got to move the ball and we’ve got to play together.”

The Sixers (15-12) led by as many as 28 points by dominating on both ends of the floor against the Kings, who entered Tuesday with a 14-11 record and as one of the NBA’s surprise teams. The Sixers shot 51.2% from the floor, including 16-of-35 from three-point range, racked up 23 fast-break points, and totaled 34 assists. On the defensive end, they held the Kings to a 10-of-42 mark from three-point distance and forced 17 turnovers the parlayed into 25 points.

The Sixers built a massive advantage with a 23-5 run to start the second quarter, capped by an Embiid free throw to make the score 62-37 midway through the period. A thunderous Tobias Harris alley-oop finish extended that lead to 69-41 about two minutes later.

“It’s just knowing what we’re trying to accomplish possession-by-possession,” Harden said. “That’s the most important thing. If we’re out here and everybody’s on different pages and have their own individual agendas — and that goes for any team — the offense isn’t going to be successful. It doesn’t matter how many great players you have on the team.”

Sacramento chipped the Sixers’ lead down to 105-89 when De’Aaron Fox split two free throws with less than 10 minutes left, but Georges Niang answered with a corner three-pointer; Harris elevated for a one-handed dunk, and Harden hit a pull-up jumper to push that lead back to 23 points.

Harden finished with 21 points, 15 assists, and five steals, continuing to round into form in his fourth game back from a foot injury. He totaled 17 points, 10 assists, and five steals before the break, becoming the only player since the 1996-97 season to record that stat line in a single half, according to Stathead.

Embiid totaled 31 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the floor and 11-of-13 shooting from the free-throw line, along with seven rebounds. Harris narrowly missed a double-double with 21 points, a season-high nine assists, and seven rebounds while also guarding Fox, the Kings’ speedy star guard.

» READ MORE: How dominant was Joel Embiid’s 53-point performance? His Sixers teammates weigh in.

The win lifted the Sixers to 3-0 to begin this seven-game homestand, their longest of the season. Up next is a marquee matchup against the defending champion Golden State Warriors on Friday night.

After dropping 53 points in Sunday’s win over the Charlotte Hornets, Embiid continued his scoring surge. He has amassed at least 30 points in 11 of his last 12 games, dating back to Nov. 12.

“James is doing a great job of getting everybody else easy shots,” Embiid said. “I’m just fortunate that my shots are going in. My teammates are doing a fantastic job just moving the ball and being in the right spots.”

A brief return in the fourth quarter allowed Embiid to reach that 30-point benchmark. He checked back in at the 7-minute, 35-second mark, finished inside less than a minute later, and sat back down for the remainder of the night less than 30 seconds after that.

The two-time MVP runner-up’s fadeaway jumper on the Sixers’ first possession indicated he would largely pick up where he left off Sunday. He scored 16 in that opening frame, going 4-of-5 from the floor and 8-of-9 from the free-throw stripe, taking advantage of his matchup with the aggressive Domantas Sabonis.

Though the Sixers’ 41-point outburst in the second quarter created an insurmountable cushion, their nearly-as-potent first quarter set the tone.

They shot 59.1% in that period and scored 39 points, their highest-scoring opening frame since March 27, 2022 at the Phoenix Suns. Embiid and Harris combined for 30 of those points.

What kept the Kings temporarily in the game: six offensive rebounds in that quarter, for a 12-2 advantage in second-chance points.

With De’Anthony Melton (back stiffness) and Danuel House Jr. (foot laceration) nursing injuries, Matisse Thybulle was a last-minute addition to the starting lineup and finished with a season-high 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting in 22 minutes.

“You never really know what to expect,” Thybulle said. “So just the concept of staying ready kind of rings true in that moment of just, when it’s your time, it’s your time. Depending on what group you’re in, you have to make adjustments and just be ready to do that on the fly.”

His terrific overall performance made up for a rough start for the defensive wing, who picked up two “stupid” fouls in the game’s first 37 seconds and missed a layup attempt off a lob pass.

Thybulle reentered the game early in the second quarter and did not pick up his third foul until there were less than three minutes to go before the break. He was on the receiving end of one of Harden’s more impressive assists, a touchdown-style pass for a fast-break layup.

In the second half, Thybulle scored nine points, including a 3-of-4 mark from beyond the arc.

“It helped me get more locked in,” Thybulle said of picking up those quick fouls. “ ... It was a bit of a wake-up call to just lock in a little bit more. And when everyone else is playing well, you never want to be the guy to bring the group down.”