Tyrese Maxey made the decisive layup with 1.3 seconds left, guiding the Philadelphia 76ers to a 113-111 win over the visiting Sacramento Kings on Thursday.
Maxey finished with 40 points, while Joel Embiid added 37 – and each of them chipped in with eight assists. Paul George notched 15 points for Philadelphia, which overcame an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit.
Dennis Schroder scored 27 points and DeMar DeRozan added 25 to pace Sacramento, which lost its seventh straight game and fell to 0-4 on its six-game road trip. The Kings are 3-21 away from home this season.
The visitors trailed by a point before Zach LaVine (17 points) knocked down a wide-open 3-pointer with 1:21 left. After the teams exchanged empty possessions, Maxey was fouled on a drive and made both free throws to forge a 111-111 tie with 27.3 seconds to play.
Following a miss by DeRozan, the Sixers had a final opportunity. Embiid took the inbounds pass at the top of the arc and handed off to a speeding Maxey, who floated a left-handed layup over two defenders.
Maxey was also fouled on the play. He missed the ensuing free throw, but LaVine’s long-distance heave came after the final buzzer sounded.
Neither team led by more than five points in a first quarter that ended with Philadelphia ahead 28-25.
Maxey poured in 14 points in the second quarter, helping the Sixers take a 60-54 lead into the locker room. Maxey and Embiid combined for 42 points in the first half, while DeRozan (21) and Schroder (14) were the top scorers for the Kings.
Philadelphia led by seven early in the third quarter before Sacramento went on a 9-2 run to draw even at 70. The teams were tied five more times in the period before Maxime Raynaud and LaVine helped the Kings take an 89-87 lead into the fourth.
Early in the final period, the Kings scored seven straight points to open a 103-92 advantage. However, the Sixers countered with a 17-5 run in which Maxey and Embiid accounted for all of their points.
Maxey’s driving layup put the hosts in front by a point with 1:57 left.
