The Sacramento Kings couldn't get a shot to fall early Wednesday evening in Philadelphia and somehow survived the first half. They fell behind big with their typical third-quarter swoon, but then rallied to make it a game.
In the end, the Kings' inconsistency in play and their inability to hit the 3-ball caught up with them in as they fell to the 76ers by a final of 97-91.
Here are three takeaways as the Kings struggled with the get-away game and fell to 7-10 on the season.
Trouble with the triple
Sacramento has shooters at every position, but there have been a few games this season when the shots from perimeter just don't fall.
Philly is one of the better teams in the league at defending the three, but the Kings also threw up some bricks on wide-open looks.
You can't shoot 9-for-35 from long range and expect to win in the NBA. That's either too many threes or too many misses.
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Dewayne Dedmon sighting
The Kings inked Dewayne Dedmon to a 3-year deal in a large part due to his ability to knock down the 3-ball. Through the first 16 games, Dedmon had hit just 8-of-37 from long range, which is a major problem.
Against the Sixers, Dedmon missed his first two triples and then started moving without the ball. He got a couple of bunnies to fall in the key and then finally hit a 3-pointer, which was just his fourth make from distance in nine games.
Dedmon continued to play solid defense against Joel Embiid and came away with his best offensive output of the season with 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting to go with six rebounds.
This is the Dedmon the Kings need on a nightly basis.
Too much Embiid
After going scoreless in 32 minutes against the Raptors last time out, Embiid ran the Kings over.
The All-Star big man was focused from the opening tip, scoring four points in the first 45 seconds of the game. He didn't stop there.
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Embiid tormented the Kings all night long, finishing with 33 points and 16 rebounds in just 31 minutes of action.
Sacramento doesn't have a big physical presence in the post to deal with a player like Embiid, but there are very few players like him left in the league.
