Philadelphia and Sacramento entered the arena with a limited roster lineup. But it was the 76ers who pulled away.
The reserves showcase took place inside the Golden 1 Center between the Sacramento Kings and Philadelphia 76ers.
Both teams dealt with a myriad of injuries. Sacramento managed to hang early with an undermanned Sixers team that rolled without Joel Embiid (oblique), Paul George (suspension), Tyrese Maxey (finger) and Kelly Oubre (elbow).
But the Kings were outscored 26-8 late to fall `139-118 on Thursday night.
Rookie Maxime Raynaud continued his impressive scoring streak. He scored 14 points in his first 16 minutes of action. Raynaud ultimately ended with 30 points to close the evening. He’s continuing to ignite All-NBA Rookie First Team honors with his late season production.
Doug McDermott also stepped up early in dropping nine points during his first 12 minutes of action, eventually ending with 11 points but scored just two in his final 19 minutes. Daeqwon Plowden delivered eight first half points and ended with 20 on the evening.
But again, Sacramento came in depleted on its end.
Nique Clifford became a last-minute scratch with his left hamstring soreness. Sacramento opted to put him on some injury management. Drew Eubanks is no longer available for the rest of the season after undergoing successful thumb surgery earlier in the week.
Malik Monk managed to play after dealing with his own recent ailment. But Monk crashed in front of the Kings' bench attempting the save and injured his right shoulder. Monk didn't return after the injury occurred in the second quarter.
DeMar DeRozan notably struggled early in producing zero points through his first eight minutes of the game. DeRozan ended his night scoring 13 points through 23 minutes.
Russell Westbrook got off to a slow start on his personal end in hitting three points for the first 10 minutes. Westbrook tallied 11 points and dished out eight assists.
Precious Achiuwa delivered 12 points while Dylan Cardwell added nine.
Sacramento, though, did receive some notable future NBA Draft news on the same night of facing Philly.
Potential top overall NBA Draft pick AJ Dybantsa may have played his final college game ever. His BYU Cougars fell to Texas in round one of March Madness, which ends his freshman season. Dybantsa has long been considered the league’s top overall draft pick should he come out for the 2026 draft class. Dybantsa now must decide his basketball future...which will impact the Kings.
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