Sixers win their fourth straight, thanks to a second-half rally vs. the Sacramento Kings

Tyrese Maxey pumped his fist as he walked toward the 76ers’ bench, slapping hands with Kelly Oubre Jr.

Oubre had just hit two free throws with 55.3 seconds remaining to finish off a fourth consecutive victory for the Sixers, who erased a 12-point second-half deficit to top the Sacramento Kings, 117-104, Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

“Our defense was really, really great in the fourth, man,” coach Nick Nurse said of a unit that limited the Kings to 6-of-21 shooting and 17 points in the final period. “We were just flying all over the place, tipped a bunch of balls around.”

Wednesday’s victory also brought the Sixers within percentage points of the Chicago Bulls, who hold 10th place in the Eastern Conference for the final spot in the play-in tournament.

It also was another game the Sixers (19-27) played without stars Joel Embiid (knee) and Paul George (finger), who both went through a pregame on-court workout Wednesday. Rotation players Caleb Martin (hip), Andre Drummond (toe), and KJ Martin (foot) also missed the game.

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Still, the Sixers took control in the fourth quarter against an opponent that entered Wednesday as of 11 of its past 14 games. It was a complete about-face from the last time these two teams met on Jan. 1, when the Sixers surrendered 15 unanswered points to blow the game.

“They were pretty disappointed we gave that one away in Sacramento,” Nurse said of his team. “A lot of talk about, ‘We gotta get this one, man. We deserve a W tonight, but we’ve got to work for it.’”

The Sixers began the fourth on a 9-2 run, including a tough driving finish by Oubre (15 points, six rebounds) to propel his team a 98-89 advantage, a game high at that point. The lead stretched to 104-94 on an Oubre corner three-pointer with 5:51 remaining. Then, after a DeMar DeRozan jumper cut Sacramento’s deficit to 108-102 with 3:04 to play, Maxey converted two driving finishes to push the advantage back out to double digits and all but seal the victory.

Maxey followed up his 43-point outburst in Tuesday’s nationally televised game against the Los Angeles Lakers with 30 points on 12-of-24 shooting and eight assists. Eric Gordon added 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, while Kyle Lowry (13 points, eight assists, five rebounds) and Ricky Council IV (13 points) anchored the Sixers’ 40 bench points.

» READ MORE: Tyrese Maxey has carried the Sixers. But will it be enough to land another All-Star nod?

Malik Monk led the Kings with 21 points, eight assists, and five rebounds. Versatile big man Domantas Sabonis compiled his eighth triple-double of the season, with 13 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists. Star point guard De’Aaron Fox, whose name has cropped up in trade rumors approaching the Feb. 6 deadline, finished with 19 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, and DeRozan added 19 points.

Sacramento (24-23) built an early nine-point lead, when a Sabonis three-pointer made it 25-16 with 2:13 left in the first quarter. The Sixers answered, seizing a 38-34 advantage on a Justin Edwards long-range shot early in the second quarter.

Neither team created real separation again until about midway through the third quarter, when Fox threw down an alley-oop dunk, Sabonis sank two free throws after getting fouled on a breakaway to the basket, and Keon Ellis followed with a corner three-pointer to give the Kings an 80-68 lead. But the Sixers responded with a 21-7 run to end the period, capped by a Reggie Jackson three-pointer to give them an 89-87 advantage going into the fourth.

The Sixers continue their six-game home stand, their longest of the season, on Friday against three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets. They then take on the defending-champion Boston Celtics on Sunday, before a back-to-back against the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat next Tuesday and Wednesday.