Sixers takeaways: Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid to the rescue, Giannis Antetokounmpo rumors, and more from win over Kings

Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid saved the 76ers from another embarrassing loss.

But for a while, the on-court action was secondary because of a report that Giannis Antetokounmpo wanted to play with Maxey.

And in the end, the Sixers did manage to win consecutive games at Xfinity Mobile Arena for the first time in over a month.

Those three things stood out in their 113-111 victory in front of 18,608.

Maxey and Embiid re-entered the game with the Sixers (26-21) down, 100-92, with 8 minutes, 13 seconds remaining.

Zach LaVine scored on a three-point play to put the Kings (12-37) up 11 points with 7:44 left.

That’s when Maxey and Embiid combined to score the Sixers’ final 21 points to avoid a loss the Kings, a team that is now tied for the NBA’s worst record.

Maxey capped the scoring barrage with a layup to put the Sixers up two points with 1.3 seconds left. He was fouled but intentionally missed the free throw, and the Sixers escaped with a 113-111 victory after LaVine misfired on a heave with 0.3 left.

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Maxey finished with a game-high 40 points, with 11 coming in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Embiid scored 10 of his 37 points in the final quarter. Both players finished the game with eight assists.

“Well, I think that’s kind of what you fear a little bit going into this game happened,” coach Nick Nurse said. “I think we are pretty lucky, to be honest with you, that we got out of there with a W.

“I mean, you know, it’s like not very good on the glass, not very good in transition, not very good on defense. And they just started building confidence, right?”

The Sixers were outrebounded, 46-24, only had three transition points, and gave up 54.2% shooting to a struggling team playing without Malik Monk (right ankle soreness), Keegan Murray (sprained left ankle), and Russell Westbrook (right foot soreness).

The Sixers have a habit of playing down to opponents, which has led to a few embarrassing losses to undermanned or struggling teams. While they expected Thursday night to be different, it was much of the same against a Sacramento squad that had lost six straight entering Thursday.

“We did a good job,” Maxey said. “We played kind of resilient. We knew we had to go in there and make a run, quick, and we did that.”

Maxey was asked if he agreed with Nurse that the Sixers were lucky.

“I feel like sometimes you got to be lucky,” he said. “It happens. It’s 82 games in the season. We didn’t play great by no stretch of the imagination. But we are going to take the W. I’d rather win the game and learn the lessons after than lose it.”

But Embiid didn’t see it as a lucky victory. He thinks the Kings are better than their record.

“They got a lot of talent,” Embiid said. “You look at DeMar [DeRozan], Zach, [Domantas] Sabonis. I mean, those are great players. They have a bunch of others. So they haven’t been healthy all season. So I think they are better than whatever their record says.

“But I think this is luck. Obviously, this is the NBA. Every team has NBA players.”

Two hours before the start of the game, arena employees were discussing the possibility of Antetokounmpo coming to Philly. Right before tip-off, a fan asked if it would be wise to include VJ Edgecombe in a package to acquire Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks. The Stein Line reported that the Sixers never contacted the Bucks about a possible deal for the two-time All-Star. However, the report said the possibility of playing with Maxey has the Sixers on Antetokounmpo’s radar.

The problem is, aside from Maxey and Edgecombe, the Sixers don’t have the assets to acquire a player of Antetokounmpo’s caliber. And they’re not trading either of those guys.

Plus, despite his love for Maxey, the Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, and Minnesota Timberwolves have emerged as the preferred destinations for the superstar. Yet that didn’t stop the infatuation with acquiring the nine-time All-NBA selection from taking much of the shine off a game in which Joel Embiid (27 points, eight assists) and Maxey (26 points, eight assists) had a solid two-man show.

With their second straight home win, the Sixers improved to 14-13 at home. The last time they won consecutive home games was against the Indiana Pacers and Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 12 and Dec. 20, respectively.

“No disrespect to them because they really do have good players and they played well tonight,” Nurse said of the Kings. “Again, I just didn’t like a lot of our defensive mentality and our rebounding mentality. I think it really let them hang around.

“So I wouldn’t say that was a great game for us. It’s a line drive in the box score, and it’s a W. So we’ll take it. But I think we got another similar team coming in on Saturday.”

The Sixers will host the New Orleans Pelicans, who at 12-27 are tied with the Kings for the NBA’s worst record.

“It feels like a long time,” Maxey said of getting consecutive home victories. “But that’s an achievement, man. We struggled at home, and we are trying to get better ... We are just going to keep trying to get better.”