More Drama as Pacers Fall to the Kings
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The drama continued on Wednesday evening for the Indiana Pacers (30-35) after ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Tuesday night that head coach Nate Bjorkgren could get fired, the Pacers went out and lost 104-93 to the Sacramento Kings (29-37).
The Pacers had 22 turnovers and gave up 25 points on those turnovers, and the Kings never led by less than nine points in the second half. They also gave up 62 points in the paint and let Marvin Bagley III score 31 points and grab 12 rebounds.
Before the game, the Pacers were favored by 6.5 points, according to FanDuel.
Yet, they lost by 11 points.
"I probably should have went to the 2-3 zone much sooner than I did as well, but it was just the physicality of him around the rim and he got to the spots where he wanted to get too," Bjorkgren said of Bagley post-game.
During the third quarter, a strange sequence appeared on the Indiana sideline as assistant coach Greg Foster was furious at one of the players. It seemed to be rookie Goga Bitadze. The video can be seen in a Tweet below from Rob Perez.
"We're in a frustrating stretch here, a lot going on with the challenges of navigating through a season, the competitive juices are flowing, and things like that'll happen," Bjorkgren said of the incident.
The Kings were able to dominate the game and did not have key players such as De'Aaron Fox, Harrison Barnes, or Tyrese Haliburton. Buddy Hield not known for his distributing, was able to carve up the defense for eight assists and the Kings swept the season series against the Pacers.
The Pacers did get lucky because the Wizards lost to the Bucks 135-134, and the loss keeps the Wizards a half-game back of the Pacers.
With seven games left, the Pacers will have to get it together if they want to hold onto the ninth seed or even make the playoffs as a whole.
"You gotta stay positive, you gotta stick together and that's where I have to lead on that," Bjorkgren said post-game.
One of the few positives on the night was Domantas Sabonis continued his hot streak offensively. Sabonis had 17 points and 13 rebounds.
The Pacers will have to pick back up against a Hawks team on Thursday night, coming off of a 135-103 win over the Suns.
