Indiana Pacers get much-needed win over Sacramento Kings
The Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings battle on Friday night started out differently than most games. Kings All-Star center Domantas Sabonis was honored with a tribute video in his return to Indianapolis, it was his first game back in the Circle City since being traded to Sacramento in February of 2022.
"We're going to try to get this win tonight and ruin his little parade," Pacers center Isaiah Jackson, who was Sabonis' teammate last season, joked before the game.
Like the Pacers did on Thursday night against the Lakers, they started strong. They led for much of the first quarter and defended well, especially compared to how they have defended of late.
That continued for much of the second quarter, but the Pacers picked it up on offense. They carried a 60-48 lead into halftime after one of their best defensive halves in a while. Former King Buddy Hield had 13 points at the break.
"Obviously, zero is back," guard Buddy Hield said of the Pacers' better starts of late, referring to Tyrese Haliburton. Haliburton returned from injury on Thursday night. "The way he pushes the ball... he brings a different aspect to our game."
The Pacers had just blown a late lead one night earlier, though, so things were not close to settled. In fact, many Pacers second halves recently have been poor.
At first, it looked like Indiana was going to finally play a complete game. They jumped all over the Kings early in the third quarter and were up by as much as 19 points in the frame. With Haliburton running the show, the Pacers looked potent.
But Sacramento went on a 20-8 run in the final five minutes of the quarter and suddenly was only down seven entering the fourth quarter. Just as quickly as it looked like Indiana was going to roll to a win, it became a close game.
The Pacers held a second-half lead against the Grizzlies and Lakers earlier in the week, but they lost both of those games. The blue and gold haven't closed out opponents well recently, and after giving away their big lead against the Kings, it looked like things were headed that direction again.
On this night, though, the Pacers' typically rickety defense stepped up. They held the Kings to just 24 fourth quarter points, including three points in the final 3:13 of play, to hang on for the win. Despite the Pacers themselves struggling offensively in the fourth quarter, they made enough plays to finally grab a victory.
"We got key stops, made big defensive plays that really mattered," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of his team's ability to close the game. "When it came down to it, there were some big defensive plays made," he added. Indiana held on to win 107-104.
The Pacers haven't defended that well in a while. Friday night was just the second time since Christmas that the blue and gold have held a team under 110 points in a game, the other being an early-January victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Carlisle shared earlier this week that his team had a heavy defensive focus in practice, and it showed in this outing.
"That's how it has to be all the time," Myles Turner said of the team's defense against Sacramento. "I like our chances when we play like that."
The Pacers desperately needed that win. Not only did they get to ruin Sabonis' parade, as Jackson joked, but they also got a win over Hield and Haliburton's former team. On top of the emotional aspects of the game, the Pacers just needed a stabilizing victory. They were 1-11 in their last 12 games entering the night and have tumbled to 11th in the Eastern Conference standings. They had to get back on track.
On Friday, they finally did. It was a team effort with eight players scoring eight or more points. Seven different Pacers players shot 40% or better. Many guys got involved, and they all stepped up.
Hield led the team with 21 points. He added nine rebounds and six assists as well in one of his best outings of the season; even his defense looked solid. Late in the game, Hield threw down a sensational dunk that gave the Pacers the final bit of momentum that they needed to win.
"Probably number one," Hield says of where that dunk ranks in his career. "Especially against the old team? For sure," he added.
Aaron Nesmith was big for the blue and gold for the second night in a row, dropping in 17 points and adding seven rebounds. Turner finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds. His defense was excellent.
The Pacers are now 25-29 and will look to start a winning streak at home against Cleveland on Sunday.
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