One of the most anticipated games of the year turned into a resounding dud for the Indiana Pacers, getting blown out by the Sacramento Kings. Falling behind by double digits in the first quarter may be nothing new for Indiana, but the Kings made sure they never climbed back in tonight, handing the Pacers their worst loss of the year.
The Pacers looked to have something early, jumping out to a 5-1 lead on a pair of wide-open looks from Jalen Smith and Andrew Nembhard, but a quick timeout by Mike Brown ensured that was it, starting a 6- 0 run and a lead the rest of the way. Sacramento extended the lead to double digits on a 12-0 run late in the quarter, TJ McConnell hitting a running three to beat the buzzer that proved a drop in the ocean.
pacers vs kings
The Pacers suffered their worst loss of the season, losing 137-114 to the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night at the Golden 1 Center in the return of guards Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield to Sacramento.
The Pacers fell to 12-9. The Kings improved to 11-9.
Here are four observations.
pacers vs kings summer league
Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton entered Wednesday’s game, his return to Sacramento, riding a streak of six straight double-doubles, and he had posted a combined 40 assists with zero turnovers in his last three games. Wednesday night was the second time he played his former team since he was traded from Sacramento to Indiana in February, however, and the first time he played them in their building. The Kings certainly seemed to have a game plan and took him out of his All-Star level rhythm.
The Kings pressured the ball, often defended him the length of the court and always had someone to guard him on the halfway line. On pick-and-rolls, where he’s usually lethal, the Kings double-teamed with one defender staying in the gap between him and the roll man and cutting off his passing lane, making sure there was one empty was to defend. Haliburton answered that by trying to pass 3s to others, but the Pacers were just inside and outside, so the obvious antidotes to the Kings’ game plan were ineffective.
Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox started the game drawing Haliburton’s defensive tackle, but Haliburton said things got even more difficult when former Baylor star Davion Mitchell came off the bench and started taking him down.
Haliburton still posted 10 assists, but he scored only nine points and was just 4-of-13 from the field 1-of-6 from 3 and turned the ball over twice with one of those back for a layup the other way. He dealt with important contacts around the basket, but was never fouled in a situation that led to free throws, which led to frustration on his end. He was called for a technical foul for a conversation with an official. Although he felt it wasn’t fair, he said he needed to do a better job of containing his emotions.
kings vs pacers last game
Beyond that, the Pacers just didn’t seem ready for what they faced. The Kings didn’t get much of a night from Domantas Sabonis (11 points, 10 rebounds with four fouls) and De’Aaron Fox took a long time to get going in the third, but it didn’t matter at all on the scoreboard . Sacramento just dominated everywhere. They outscored the Pacers in transition, outscoring them 31-8 and hitting threes at a higher volume and percentage. In a game with many storylines, the Kings controlled them all.
The Pacers fall to 1-2 in their current road trip with tonight’s loss and somehow aren’t even halfway there yet. They weren’t able to hang with a playoff-caliber team hungry for a win tonight, but have no shortage of such tests the rest of the way. That will start with a Friday night matchup against the Utah Jazz .
The Jazz and Pacers may be the two most surprising teams in the league to this point in the season, but Utah has come back down to earth, losing their last five and eight of 10 after a 10-3 start. It’s a real comeback opportunity for Indiana, which dropped to 2-3 in its last five but has so far avoided losing back-to-back games.
