Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Philadelphia 76ers (17-29) host the Sacramento Kings (19-28) this evening in the rescheduled game from November 30, when they were postponed due to unsafe playing conditions on the court. The Sixers have lost their last two after winning five of seven while the Kings have won three of their last four. Tonight's game has an earlier start time of 6:00 p.m. with the Kings having to fly to Houston for a game on Tuesday.
Joel Embiid will not play tonight as the team will continue to be cautious about his left knee contusion. According to the Sixers latest medical update, the 7-foot-2 center id doubtful for the teams' upcoming trip to Dallas and San Antonio and his status for Miami and Dallas at home is up in the air. Jahlil Okafor will start in his place. Brett Brown mentioned after shootaround on Monday that Okafor has handled the center situation like a star. He'll get 4-5 minute clumps tonight.
Last Meeting:
The Sixers and Kings met back in December out west and Sacramento emerged victorious, 102-100. Philadelphia led 77-70 heading into the final quarter, but the Kings outscored the Sixers by nine in the fourth. DeMarcus Cousins hit a decisive three to put the Kings ahead with less than 30 seconds to play, leading his team to the win. Cousins blocked Joel Embiid's three with time ticking down to seal it. Although Dario Saric scored 12 of the Sixers final 14 points of the third quarter to put them up by seven, the Kings were too much down the stretch. Embiid finished with 25 points and eight rebounds while Cousins had 30 points, seven boards and five assists.
Ersan Ilyasova finds his stroke, Covington puts in solid effort vs. Bulls:
Prior to Sunday's loss to the Bulls, Ersan Ilyasova had only made 11 field goals over the team's past three games, but without Joel Embiid, the veteran forward took on the brunt of the offensive burden and flourished. He finished with a season-high 31 points on 11-for-19 shooting (.579) while also hitting seven of nine from the free throw line. In addition to his 31 points, he grabbed 11 boards in 35 minutes.
Meanwhile, Robert Covington tallied his fourth double double of January on Sunday in Chicago, scoring 21 points (8-16fg) to go along with 13 rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocks. He hit four of seven from beyond the arc in 37 minutes of action. After shooting just 26.7 percent from three in December, RoCo has picked it up in 2017 thus far, shooting just under 36 percent, a nice jump from where he was a month ago.
Cavs approach Sixers about trade for McConnell:
With the defending champion Cavaliers looking for a backup point guard, they inquired about TJ McConnell over the weekend according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The deal would have sent McConnell to Cleveland in exhange for a package centered around 2014 Sixers second round pick, Jordan McRae. Philadelphia rejected the offer. The Sixers have just looked like a better team with McConnell as the starting point guard and the former undrafted free agent is embracing the role. Prior to Sunday's game, TJ was averaging 8.9 assists per game in January, good for 7th in the NBA ahead of LeBron James and Steph Curry.
Previous Game Rewind:
Sixers: In the first half of a back-to-back, the Sixers fell to the Bulls in Chicago 121-108. Trailing by as many as 19, Philadelphia tied things up at 79 before the Bulls went on a run to go back up by 11 to end the third quarter. Chicago was dominant early, ending the first quarter on a 13-0 run to go into the second with a 37-23 advantage. Although the Sixers were able to chip away, they trailed by 10 at the half before tying things in the third and failing to keep pace in the fourth. Without Joel Embiid, Ersan Ilyasova led the way, scoring 31 points and grabbing 11 boards.
Kings: Sacramento is coming off of a 109-106 win in Charlotte on Saturday, thanks in large part to Demarcus Cousins scoring 35 points to go along with 18 rebounds. Cousins scored the go-ahead basket with 14.3 seconds left on a driving layup from the right side of the lane. The Hornets had a chance to get back ahead late, but their final shot attempts fell short of the hoop.
| Matchup Preview | January 30, 2017 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sacramento Kings (19-28, 11-15 Away) |
Philadelphia 76ers (17-29, 11-15 Home) |
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Game Information:
Tip-off: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
TV: CSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
