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Dalembert leads Sixers past shorthanded Kings

Dec 29, 2007 - 7:09 AM By Tom Galland PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

SACRAMENTO, California (Ticker) - The Philadelphia 76ers started their longest road trip of the season in impressive fashion, coasting past the injury-riddled Sacramento Kings.

Samuel Dalembert collected 19 points and 11 rebounds as the Sixers posted a 90-78 victory over the Kings on Friday night.

Andre Miller added 12 of his 18 points in the second half and Andre Iguodala collected 16 for Philadelphia, which won for just the third time in their last 19 visits to Arco Arena.

"(In Philadelphia) we had a good gameplan but we didn't execute well enough," said Dalembert, who scored just four in a loss to the Kings on December 14. "I was leaving Brad Miller outside too many times and he was hurting us. Today we stayed with our men and let the guards get to the basket and finish. It was a huge difference."

Kings forward Ron Artest was a late scratch with bone chips in his right elbow, joining teammates Mike Bibby (hand) and Kevin Martin (groin) in street clothes.

"We just had to take advantage of (the injuries)," Miller said. "Anytime you've got players down, that's kind of what happens in the league. We probably had to play harder because a lot of those guys over there want to prove themselves."

Sacramento's John Salmons tied the game at 69-69 with a 17-foot jumper from the wing with just under nine minutes remaining, but that would prove to be the last glimmer of hope for Sacramento.

Iguodala's 3-pointer capped a 19-4 Philadelphia burst to take a commanding 88-73 lead with just over three minutes to go and the Kings were unable to counter.

"We don't usually play a lot of zone, but it helped a lot in the fourth quarter," said Philadelphia coach Maurice Cheeks, who saw his team win for the eighth time in 11 games.

"We didn't play great basketball and (Sacramento) did a good job having the effort," Iguodala said. "We really had to get this win is what it came down to."

Salmons scored 22 points for the Kings, who lost their third straight game at Arco Arena to fall to 8-7 at home.

"Three losses in a row at home, it's not a great thing to do," said Kings guard Beno Udrih, who scored just two of his 19 after the break. "We have to keep our heads up and have to play more aggressively. Less turnovers, more assists, and hit open shots."

After the Sixers built an 11-point lead, Sacramento closed out the first half on an impressive 10-3 surge to trail 50-46 at intermission.

The Kings continued to chip away in the third, finally pulling ahead when Mikki Moore scored inside after grabbing an offensive rebound. The Sixers answered with consecutive baskets to regain the lead before Brad Miller hit an 18-foot jumper at the buzzer to tie the game at 63-63 heading to the fourth quarter.

"We could probably start by talking about being undermanned," said Kings coach Reggie Theus. "But even with that said, I don't accept 22 turnovers. They scored 27 points off our turnovers. Regardless of how undermanned you are, you've got to take care of the basketball. It's ridiculous."