SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday looked nothing like a team that lost 30 of 31 games to begin the campaign. Now that they've won two of three, it almost seems like ancient times.

The Sacramento Kings are tired of time seemingly standing still.

"This team has been playing well together as of late," forward Nerlens Noel said after the 76ers won for just the third time in 34 games overall, a 110-105 decision over the Sacramento Kings that left many in the sellout crowd of 17,317 at Sleep Train Arena booing the whole team. "We've known that it was just a matter of time until the wins came, and now it's starting to happen."

Noel scored a season-high 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and forward Jerami Grant added 16 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks for Philadelphia. Guard Ish Smith, acquired from New Orleans in a trade on Christmas Eve, scored 18 points and made two crucial jumpers in the final 3 1/2 minutes to lift the 76ers.

"These guys are having a lot of fun," 76ers coach Brett Brown said. "They've put in a lot of work, and taken a lot of hits. If anybody deserves to win a game, these guys deserve it. They take hits, they don't blink and they keep on going. They deserved this for their perseverance."

Forward Marco Belinelli scored a season-high 28 points in 30 minutes but his turnover late in the fourth quarter helped Sacramento (12-20) join the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns as the only teams to lose to the 76ers this season.

"They've got youth, they've got length, and they played hard as hell," Kings coach George Karl said after remaining stalled at 1,154 career victories, one shy of tying Phil Jackson for fifth on the NBA's all-time list. "When you don't play hard on the court, you get what you deserve. You don't need analytics to see it. We turned it over crazy, and gave a young team a chance to win."

Center DeMarcus Cousins added 21 points and 11 rebounds after avoiding a suspension from the NBA in Sacramento's first contest since his ejection against the Golden State Warriors on Monday night. But Cousins fouled out with the Kings down 105-101 and 1:47 left in the final quarter after scrambling for a loose ball caused by Belinelli's soft entry pass.

The Kings also were undone by 22 turnovers and were outscored 28-13 off those turnovers. They allowed 50 points inside the paint; missed 16 of their 41 free-throw attempts, including 7 of 15 in the final quarter; and allowed the 76ers, the league's worst offensive team, to match their season average of 92 by early in the fourth quarter.

It led to their second straight home loss following a four-game winning streak in their home arena.

"We dropped the ball," Cousins said. "Turnovers killed us. Paint points killed us. That's a young, hungry team, and they just outhustled us, straight up."

Philadelphia forward Jahlil Okafor returned to the floor after missing two straight games with right knee soreness and had eight points and eight rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench.

The 76ers never trailed in the second half, using a 16-4 run to start the period to build a 12-point lead. The Kings were within one possession of tying the game five times in the final period but could never convert.

"We've got a dark cloud over our head right now," Cousins said.

Smith's two jumpers and a free throw helped keep Sacramento at bay down the stretch. Forward Robert Covington grabbed an offensive rebound before Smith's floating 7-footer made it 105-101. Grant then hit two free throws for a 107-101 advantage, and when Smith and Grant each hit one free throw on Philadelphia's next two possessions, the lead was 109-103. A final free throw by Covington iced it with 7.7 seconds left.

Sacramento forward Omri Casspi, who scored a career-high 36 points and tied a franchise mark with nine 3-points in Sacramento's loss at Golden State on Monday finished with 10 points but made only 2 of 7 from long distance. Guard Darren Collison added 13 points for the Kings.

NOTES: Kings C DeMarcus Cousins, 25, the object of sharp criticism after his ejection against the Golden State Warriors on Monday, has been tossed from a game 10 times in his six professional seasons, the most in the NBA over that time. He also leads the league in technical fouls over that span with 79. Cousins' six technical fouls this season are one behind four other players. ... 76ers G Nik Stauskas, Sacramento's first pick in the 2014 draft, started the contest. He was averaging 7.1 points in 22.8 minutes in 13 starts for the 76ers, a year after putting up totals of 4.4 points and 15.4 minutes in 73 games and one start with Sacramento. ... Kings F Kosta Koufos returned after missing Monday's game with gastroenteritis, but rookie C Willie Cauley-Stein (dislocated right index finger) missed his 12th consecutive contest. ... C Nerlens Noel has started three consecutive games at the position for the 76ers but is expected to go back to his usual power forward spot when C Jahlil Okafor returns to the starting lineup.