On the brink of a five-game winning streak, the Sixers collapsed in Sacramento on Wednesday night.

At the end of the game, they went on a 15-0 run against the Kings, who won 113-107.

De’Aaron Fox (35 points) and Domantas Sabonis (17 points, 21 rebounds, seven assists) played for the Kings, who went 15-19.

Paul George recorded 30 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Tyrese Maxey had 27 points, six assists and five steals. As described below, both Maxey and George did much to bring the Sixers to the precipice of victory, but down the stretch they found themselves in the midst of disaster.

Four Sixers were sidelined on the first night of a back-to-back game that ends Thursday against the Warriors. After his eight-stealout in the Sixers’ win over the Trail Blazers on Monday, Kelly Oubre Jr. sat with a sprained left hand. Joel Embiid (left ankle sprain), KJ Martin (left foot stress reaction) and Jared McCain (left lateral meniscus surgery) were also out.

Sacramento was without third-year forward Keegan Murray (left ankle soreness) and rookie guard Devin Carter (return to competition due to reconditioning).

Here are observations about the 13-18 Sixers’ first loss of 2025:

George finds his game in the first half

Kyle Lowry made his first start since November 18 and Guerschon Yabusele began the evening at center. Without Oubre, Yabusele was the only remaining Sixer to play every game this season.

The Kings got off to a bright start, taking a 15-7 lead when Malik Monk finished off a tough fast-break layup against Lowry. After a timeout, George got the ball on an Iverson cut and the Sixers performed a simple isolation. George drove and threw a pass to the wing that Keon Ellis intercepted.

His evening then took a turn in a much more positive direction. George drilled two early 3-pointers and scored 11 of the Sixers’ first 18 points, including an improbable jumper that he sank when he was fouled by Kevin Huerter.

The nine-time All-Star found himself in foul trouble again – that’s three games in a row now – but was at least able to avoid anything that was really damaging in the first half. At the 2:31 mark of the first quarter, George was called for his second foul, but Sixers head coach Nick Nurse brought him back into the game for the final possession of the first quarter, and George received a much more pleasant whistle and drew a three-shot -Foul on Ellis.

George was still great early in the second quarter. He converted a driving layup, dropped a fadeaway jumper and fired a crisp cross-court assist off an Eric Gordon three-pointer. The 34-year-old reached 20 points with another layup in the second quarter, which is more than he had scored in any complete game during his lull in the previous six contests.

George remained lying down after lying down and fell hard on his back onto the floor. He eventually went to the bench after a timeout and returned to the bench for the final minutes of the second quarter.

The Sixers’ early-season luck was absurdly bad in every area, from injuries versus injury fears to jumpers going out or in. Although all hope is understandably abandoned after the end of the evening, George’s track record suggests he is due for more performances like the first half on Wednesday.

Drummond and Gordon are back

The Sixers welcomed veterans Gordon and Andre Drummond back to their rotation. Drummond had missed the last three games with a left toe sprain and Gordon had missed the last four with oral surgery.

While those players filled expected roles, no one expected rookie winger Justin Edwards to play minutes in the first quarter.

Edwards served primarily with the G League’s Delaware Blue Coats as one of the Sixers’ three two-way contract players. He recorded his first NBA rotation time (five minutes) and missed his one-shot attempt, a catch-and-shoot three-pointer. For him, DeMar DeRozan was a tough mid-range jumper like he’s managed against just about everyone over the years.

Gordon and Drummond each had productive results, scoring 19 of the Sixers’ 25 bench points in the first half. Gordon sank a three-pointer off a Drummond kickout pass, extending the Sixers’ lead to 51-37.

Sacramento fought back with a big run and combined stops with its zone defense. Fox’s three-pointer tied the game at halftime.

Tons of late mistakes from Sixers stars

Maxey scored a dozen points in the third quarter and the Sixers’ shooters were hot across the board. He stole the ball from Monk on a successful Yabusele blitz, then fouled in transition and knocked down his free throws, giving the Sixers a 75-66 lead.

Fox, a fellow Kentucky native, was outstanding in the second half, scoring tirelessly and finishing the night 13-for-16 from the field. He prevented the Sixers from opening the game, and that proved to be a bigger problem than adding to the stress level of a win.

Maxey, George and the Sixers combined to do a disastrous job of countering the Kings’ defensive aggression in the final minutes.

As Sacramento attacked Maxey with all-out offense, the Sixers turned to George in the post. He tried to go through two defenders and find an opening, but in doing so he let the shot clock run out.

Maxey had a similar idea far from the basket as he tried to split the Kings’ blitz attack near half court. The result was a turnover that led to a quick layup by DeRozan. Maxey pushed forward and missed a difficult runner on the Sixers’ next play.

Finally, with the Sixers trailing by two points, George turned the ball over, was stripped on a drive and didn’t hear the whistle he wanted. He eventually committed his sixth foul and Sacramento ended the game at the foul line.

Even if everything seems to be working, neglecting the basics can obviously be costly. As Nurse said after the Sixers’ Christmas win over the Celtics, his team was consistently top ball-handling players last season. In Sacramento, the Sixers’ stars were weak in that regard, allowing the Kings to pull off a stunning comeback win.