PHILADELPHIA -- Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins won his duel with rookie Jahlil Okafor -- his Philadelphia 76ers counterpart -- Wednesday.

He won the game as well.

Cousins scored 28 points, including the go-ahead jumper with 2:18 left, as the Kings rallied for a 114-110 victory over the 76ers, in the teams' final game before the All-Star break.

Reserve guard Darren Collison added 25 points, 19 in the final 13 minutes, and forward Rudy Gay had 22 for the Kings, who trailed by 17 points in the third quarter and by 11 with 9:44 remaining.

Cousins also grabbed 12 rebounds for Sacramento, which made 14 of 19 shots while outscoring Philadelphia 39-23 in the fourth quarter.

Guard Rajon Rondo had 14 points and 15 assists for the Kings (22-31), who snapped a four-game losing streak. It was their second victory in 10 games.

"Philly seemingly does this and scares a lot of people," Kings coach George Karl said, adding that it was "kind of a gutty, gritty win for us in a situation where I've seen a lot of teams just throw this one in."

Forward Robert Covington had a career-high 29 points and Okafor matched his season high of 26 for the 76ers, who lost for the sixth time in seven games to fall to 8-45.

Okafor also had 10 rebounds, and guard Nik Stauskas, a former King, scored 16 points.

Okafor, who made 11 of 18 shots and had a season-high five assists, called Cousins "the best big man in the NBA" and said it was "a lot of fun" to face him for the second time this season.

Cousins went 8-for-18 from the floor and also handed out five assists. He was no less complimentary of Okafor.

"Jahlil's going to be a problem," he said. "I'm a fan of the young kid. I'm always a fan of a skilled big man. He's going to be a great player."

The 76ers, without center/forward Nerlens Noel (knee tendinitis), went up 92-81 after a basket by backup guard T.J. McConnell with 9:44 left, and fended off a Sacramento charge to build a 102-95 lead on Covington's 3-pointer with 5:14 to play. The Kings rattled off 13 of the next 16 points to go up 108-105.

Cousins' jumper from the left wing gave them the lead for good, 106-105.

Philadelphia closed the gap to 112-110 on a free throw by guard Ish Smith with 9.7 seconds left, but Collison connected twice at the line with 8.1 seconds left to ice the game.

"It hurts, because we really wanted to win this game, going into the All-Star break," Okafor said.

The 76ers had also frittered away a 19-point lead in Monday's overtime loss to the Clippers. As in that game, their offense stagnated in the fourth quarter. Philadelphia missed 14 of 22 shots in Wednesday's final period.

"We get in this frozen mode, where we need more movement," coach Brett Brown said. "We need it to go through hands more. At times we did. ... The other night was terrible -- really poor. I thought tonight we moved it better, but it still is not to the level we wanted."

The 76ers led most of the first half, but saw the Kings creep within 42-41 midway through the second quarter. Cousins, amid a stretch in which he scored eight straight Sacramento points, became embroiled in a back-and-forth battle with Okafor.

At one point, Okafor scored inside, but the next time down was called for an offensive foul against Cousins. On the Kings' very next possession, Cousins stormed to the rim but had his dunk attempt blocked by Okafor, who then converted a three-point play at the other end.

By halftime, the Philadelphia lead was 63-48, as Stauskas nailed a long 3-pointer at the buzzer.

The 76ers stretched their lead to 17 early in the third quarter on another 3-pointer by Stauskas, 73-56, and were up 87-75 by the end of the period.

Sacramento opened the fourth quarter on a 14-5 run featuring 3-pointers by Gay and Collison, cutting the gap to 92-89 with 7:40 remaining, but the 76ers extended their lead to seven a little over two minutes later.

NOTES: Sixers coach Brett Brown said it doesn't appear C-F Nerlens Noel will be able to play in Friday's Rising Stars Challenge, part of All-Star Weekend in Toronto. ... Sacramento coach George Karl was asked before the game about reports earlier in the week that he was about to be fired and subsequent reassurances from general manager Vlade Divac that he would be retained. "I can't control what other people think of me," Karl said, adding that he didn't think there was added pressure on him. "That's your world," he said to a group of reporters. "My world is basketball, the gym and players. Your world is interpretation, innuendo, gossip. I'm not into it." ... 76ers rookie C Jahlil Okafor, the subject of trade rumors, told ESPN.com he would prefer to remain in Philadelphia. "There's no doubt in my mind, we're going to be really good, really soon," he said.