By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Philadelphia 76ers (4-14) return home after a short trip to Toronto for a match-up against the Sacramento Kings (7-11) tonight at 7:00 p.m. The Sixers are looking to snap a four-game losing streak against a Kings team that has only won three games on the road this season.
Joel Embiid returns to the lineup tonight after playing on Sunday against Cleveland and staying behind on the Sixers trip to Toronto. The big news for Embiid is that after a CT scan earlier in the week, his minutes have been increased to 28.
Pre-game update:
•Joel Embiid playing time limit increased to 28 minutes, starting tonight vs. Sacramento.— Philadelphia 76ers (@Sixers) November 30, 2016
Embiid is expected to see court time with fellow big man Jahlil Okafor tonight with the Kings running with two centers on a regular basis. Meanwhile, Nerlens Noel is getting closer to a return as he heads to the D-League to continue his rehab. Point guard Jerryd Bayless is out again tonight and has been listed as day-to-day moving forward with continuing left wrist issues.
Last Meeting:
The Kings and Sixers last met on February 10 of last season in Philadelphia, with Sacramento escaping by a narrow 114-110 margin. DeMarcus Cousins led the way with 28 points while Darren Collison and Rudy Gay contributed with 25 and 22 points, respectively. Philadelphia's offense was powered by Robert Covington, who scored a game-high 29 points, followed closely by Jahlil Okafor, who finished with 26 on 11-for-18 shooting.
Battle of the Bigs:
Tonight at the Wells Fargo Center, fans will get treated to the likes of Embiid and Okafor together on the court. While the Noel/Okafor combo didn't work well last season, Embiid's ability to guard outside the post makes this pairing more intriguing. The two young big men will match-up against the 6-foot-11 DaMarcus Cousins and 7-footer Kosta Koufos. Cousins has been a force to reckon with this year, averaging a career-best 28.7 points per game to go along with 10.4 rebounds. Koufas, more of a role player, is averaging 5.6 points and 5.9 boards per game this season. Joel Embiid, despite his minutes restriction, has been running circles around his fellow rookies, averaging 18.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. Okafor, primarily in a reserve role, is averaging over 10 points per game while leading the Sixers in field-goal percentage at 49.4 percent.
Previous Game Rewind:
Sixers: Philadelphia couldn't keep up with the No. 2 ranked Eastern Conference team in Toronto, falling by a final score of 122-95. The Raptors shot 54.5 percent overall and 68.4 percent from beyond the arc with Kyle Lowry hitting all six of his shots from long range en route to a 24-point effort. The Sixers were led by Robert Covington, who finished with 20 points, shooting 6-for-9 from downtown. Despite leading the team in points, Covington was a -25. Richaun Holmes provided a nice spark off the bench, scoring 11 points to go along with nine boards in 23 minutes of action
Kings: Sacramento has won three of their last five games, but are coming off of a 101-95 ovetime loss at the hands of the Wizards in the nation's capitol. The Kings were held to just three points in the extra session as Washington rebounded from coughing up a late lead to earn the win in overtime. Cousins missed all three of his shots and two free throws in OT, but still finished with 36 points and 20 rebounds. He scored 10 of the Kings' points as part of a 12-4 run to tie the game up at the end of regulation. Rudy Gay scored 18 points while Ty Lawson contributed with 12.
| Matchup Preview | November 30, 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sacramento Kings (7-11, 3-6 Away) |
Philadelphia 76ers (4-14, 4-8 Home) |
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Game Information:
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
TV: CSNPhilly
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Stream Live: CSNPhilly.com, NBC Sports Live Extra app
