Sixers come out on top in battle with Kings

It's time.

After three months of shake-your-head basketball, it's time to say it: The 76ers are improving.

It might be the opponents, who lately have been mediocre at best, but you'd be stubborn if you didn't admit the Sixers are playing better defense, better offense, and better in-between.

Last night at the Wachovia Center, the Sixers built a lead, kept it, and defeated the up-and-coming Sacramento Kings, 98-86.

The Sixers, now 13-26, are 6-4 in their last 10 games. The Kings slipped to 15-23.

Two nights after losing at home to the New York Knicks in a similarly back-and-forth game, the Sixers defeated Sacramento with a fourth-quarter defense that looked almost afraid to let the Kings stick around until the end.

In that lock-down fourth, the Sixers forced six turnovers, off which they scored 13 fastbreak points, held the Kings to 4-for-12 shooting, and allowed only 15 points.

Again and again, the Sixers attacked whomever tried dribbling off an on-ball screen - sometimes Chester native Tyreke Evans (14 points), other times Kevin Martin (19 points) - forcing him backward, onto his heels.

"We've been basically going out there and playing much more aggressive on the ball and push into the ball and pressure up and make guys turn the ball over," said Sixers forward Thaddeus Young, who scored a game-high 20 points. "We've been doing a good job of it."

"The defensive end of the court, we just got stops," said guard Allen Iverson, who finished with 17 points. "Once we got stops, we were able to get some momentum on the other end of the court. And that's the most important thing with us - getting stops and being able to run again and not have to play against half-court defenses, and not have to play against zones. Obviously, that's not something that we want to do."

After the game, Sixers coach Eddie Jordan seemed unable to pinpoint the defensive improvements, almost as if protecting a secret.

Asked the same question, power forward Elton Brand smiled coyly.

"We don't want to give away too many scouting secrets," Brand said.

Brand's 14 off-the-bench points made him the only reserve in double-figure scoring, joining all the starters. Center Samuel Dalembert, whose play of late has been some of the finest of his career, grabbed 12 boards and scored 17 points.

A little more than midway through the fourth quarter, the Kings, trailing by 84-76, switched out of a man-to-man defense into a zone. A few seconds later, point guard Lou Williams (11 points) hit a three-pointer from the right wing to extend the Sixers' lead to 87-76, at that time their largest of the game.

Immediately, Sacramento coach Paul Westphal called a time-out. Westphal kept his team in the zone, closing the margin to 89-83 on a to-the-rim finish by Evans.

In those last minutes, Evans' lay-in was as close as Sacramento could get.

"I think we really raised our defensive intensity in the fourth quarter . . . ," Jordan said. "We feel very good about our improvement and our growth, especially defensively."

Follow the 76ers on Kate Fagan's blog at http://go.philly.com/dsixEndText