Career night for Haliburton but Kings lose sixth in a row to 76ers; latest on Fox’s injury
Interim Kings coach Alvin Gentry was pressed on the continuing absence of De’Aaron Fox after the 24-year-old point guard was ruled out for the fourth game in a row due to left ankle soreness.
The Kings nearly found a way to win a game without him, but they couldn’t finish the job despite a career night from Tyrese Haliburton in a 103-101 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night at Wells Fargo Center.
Joel Embiid had 36 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for the 76ers (30-19), who have won 14 of 17 to get within two games of the Miami Heat for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Haliburton posted a career-high 38 points, seven assists, three rebounds and three steals for the Kings (18-33), who are mired in a season-long six-game losing streak.
Haliburton, a 2021 Rookie of the Year finalist, was held to a total of 18 points on 7-of-23 shooting in the two previous games against the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks. He made 11 of 19 against the 76ers while going 5 of 9 from 3-point range and 11 of 12 at the free-throw line to surpass his previous career high of 28 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 22, 2021.
“I feel like I’m learning every night through the good and the bad,” Haliburton said. “Obviously, the last two nights, I’ve been awful. Tonight, I was pretty good.”
The Kings played a stellar first half to go up by as many as 17 points in the second quarter. They led 61-50 at the halftime break after shooting 51.1% from the field and 44.4% from 3-point range while tallying 19 assists on 23 baskets with only six turnovers. The Kings scored 18 points off 13 Philadelphia turnovers. They sent Embiid to the free-throw line 12 times, but he went 1 of 5 from the field with three turnovers.
The Kings went up by 15 early in the third quarter, but they were clinging to an 83-81 lead going into the fourth. They took an 87-81 lead on back-to-back baskets from Richaun Holmes early in the fourth, but then the 76ers hit them with an 18-3 run to go up 99-90 with 3:45 remaining. Haliburton made three 3-pointers in the final 3:25 to help the Kings cut the deficit to two in the final seconds, but Barnes missed a 3-pointer that would have won the game as time expired.
The Kings felt they passed up a couple of open shots on the final possession — and missed Holmes open under the basket — but they were content with the last shot by Barnes.
Barnes had 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Davion Mitchell had 15 points and five assists. Buddy Hield had another rough shooting night, going 1 of 8 from the field and 0 of 7 from 3-point range to finish with two points. He is shooting 21.3% over the past five games.
The Kings fell to 1-7 on the season without Fox, who hasn’t suited up since scoring 27 points in a loss to the Detroit Pistons on Jan. 19. He was a late scratch for the game against the Milwaukee Bucks three days later despite the fact that he wasn’t listed on the team’s injury report.
Gentry was asked how much longer Fox will be out and whether he is experiencing anything more than ankle soreness.
“Don’t know how long he’ll be out,” Gentry said. “It is a sore ankle. That’s been it. He dresses, he tries it, and then he’s really the only one that knows the pain threshold of where it is or anything. So, yeah, all it is is an ankle right now, so there’s not anything else going on.”
Gentry said Fox is receiving daily treatment in an effort to heal the ankle.
“He’s getting therapy every day,” Gentry said. “They’re trying to do everything they can to get him back on the court, so that’s about all that can be done, really.”
This story was originally published January 29, 2022 at 8:57 PM.
