The Philadelphia 76ers are trending in the right direction, but they could have their hands full with Domantas Sabonis and the visiting Sacramento Kings when the teams square off Wednesday.
The Sixers are the worst rebounding team in the NBA — they are the only team that pulls down fewer than 40 per game — and they likely will once again be taking the court without center Joel Embiid (knee), forward Paul George (finger) and rebounding specialist Andre Drummond (toe).
That will force undersized center Guerschon Yabusele and bouncy rookie Adem Bona to contend with Sabonis, who leads the league in rebounding (14.6 per game) and is on a particularly impressive stretch at the moment.
The Lithuanian lefty has pulled down double-digit rebounds in 23 straight games. In fact, he has only failed to reach 10 boards in a game twice in 43 games this season. He snagged 22 rebounds on Monday in Sacramento’s 110-96 win over the Brooklyn Nets in New York, finishing with a triple-double that included 21 points and 10 assists.
“I’m just going out there, trying to do my job,” Sabonis said. “As a big, you’ve got to rebound. And then I try to be involved on the offensive end, help my teammates.”
Sabonis, who hit 8 of 10 field-goal attempts, became just the second player in NBA history to post a 20-point, 20-rebound triple-double while shooting at least 80 percent from the field. Wilt Chamberlain (five times) is the only other member of that club.
Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox delivered a 30-point performance with seven assists and no turnovers at Brooklyn following a rough six-game stretch in which he shot 31.8 percent overall and failed to exceed 20 points.
“When you get that aggressive Fox, it’s a special sight to behold,” Kings coach Doug Christie said.
Fox was in the news for a different reason on Tuesday, as multiple media outlets reported that Sacramento might trade him before the deadline on Feb. 6.
Perhaps Fox’s best game of the season came on New Year’s Day against the Sixers. He scored 35 points on 13-of-16 shooting in the Kings’ 113-107 home win. Sabonis starred in that one, as well, logging 17 points, 21 rebounds and seven assists.
That loss was part of the Sixers’ 2-10 stretch to begin 2025, but Philadelphia awakened over the past week with a hard-fought win over the league-leading Cleveland Cavaliers, followed by double-digit victories over the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers.
In a 118-104 triumph over the Lakers on Tuesday, Tyrese Maxey scored 43 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. chipped in with 20 points as Philadelphia won without Embiid, George and Drummond.
“Now I just have the mindset of whoever is out here is out here,” Maxey said. “We’ve got to go out here and play extremely hard and give ourselves a chance to win the game. I know that has to start with me — and I’m OK with that. I’m up for the challenge.”
The Sixers grabbed 14 steals while snapping Los Angeles’ four-game winning streak. LeBron James notched 31 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, but he also committed eight turnovers.
“Our defense was great,” Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse said. “(We forced) 22 turnovers, had our hands all over the place. … (We were) really active.”
Philadelphia prevailed despite being outshot 51.4 percent to 47.3 percent from the floor.
