Fall Back: Sluggish Kings Drop Sunday Matinee To Pacers
Nov 7, 2021, 5:43 PM | Updated: Nov 8, 2021, 8:35 am
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Sacramento shot 36% from the field and 29% from three-point range during their loss to Indiana
Following Friday night’s impressive 140-110 win over the Charlotte Hornets, it seemed as if the Sacramento Kings were on the verge of a real hot-streak.
The Indiana Pacers entered play on Sunday with a 3-7 record and would be without the services of talented guard Malcom Brogdon, giving the Kings a decent chance to improve to 6-4 on the season.
A win would not be in the cards for Sacramento as the Pacers controlled the game from the early minutes of the first quarter during a 94-91 win at Golden 1 Center.
With the loss, the Kings (5-5) fall to .500 on the season and will play the second game of a back-to-back on Monday against the defending Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns.
As we all gained an hour of sleep on Sunday morning with the ending of Daylight Savings, it looked as if the Kings were sleepwalking during the first quarter.
Indiana opened up the matinee with a commanding 22-11 run to create some separation from a Sacramento team that was nearly unstoppable from the field during Friday night’s 140-110 win over the Charlotte Hornets.
The Kings finished the first quarter an abysmal eight-of-24 from the field and three-of-11 from three-point range (with one of those triples being Buddy Hield’s impressive end-of-quarter buzzer-beater) as they trailed 27-19 entering the second period.
Hield’s impressive triple at the end of the first acted as a wakeup call for the Kings offense as Sacramento trimmed Indiana’s once 12-point lead to 48-43 at the halftime break.
The Pacers opened up the second half on an absolute tear, outscoring the Kings 18-9 over the first six minutes of the third quarter to take a 67-52 lead–their largest lead of the game. Each time the Kings cut into Indiana’s lead, the Pacers would answer as they entered the fourth with a 74-67 advantage.
Tyrese Haliburton injected life into Golden 1 Center as he cut Indiana’s lead to 74-72 after going on a 5-0 run by himself to open up the fourth quarter.
Sacramento and Indiana traded baskets down the stretch, with the Pacers pulling ahead 93-88 with 1:33 remaining after a lay-in from T.J. McConnell. Haliburton knocked down a big three to cut the deficit to 93-91 with less than one minute remaining.
Both Indiana and the Kings both squandered scoring chances down the final stretch, but Sacramento pressured the Pacers into a jump-ball with 8.1 seconds remaining. Richaun Holmes controlled the jump-ball and the Kings called timeout with a chance to tie or win the game with just over five seconds on the clock.
Out of the time out, Haliburton let a long three-pointer loose that missed everything and the Kings had to foul McConnell immediately after he gained possession of the rebound. The Pacers guard converted one of his two free-throws to give Indiana a 94-91 lead, the eventual final score after Fox’s full-court pass to Harrison Barnes was picked off.
It was a very Jekyll & Hyde performance from Sacramento–not even 48 hours removed from one of the team’s most exciting showcases in recent memory. The offense was not clicking, the ball-movement was not crisp and the Kings were getting owned on the glass by Indiana (out-rebounded 54-33 on Sunday).
If Friday was Sacramento’s best performance of the season, they didn’t have to wait long to display its worst–but Kings head coach Luke Walton has like what he has seen thus far.
“Look, how many teams have played 10 games and have been in every single one of them? Not many,” Walton said postgame. “We know how far we have to go but I’m very encouraged and I’m not surprised our team found a way in a game that we never found our rhythm in to have a chance. I’m proud of the group.”
Rounding Out The Box Score
Buddy Hield’s green-light was shining bright on Sunday.
The 28-year-old finished with 17 points on five-of-12 from three-point range, his fourth game this season with at least five makes from beyond the arc.
Tyrese Haliburton came alive in the fourth quarter as the sophomore guard scored 11 of his 17 points in the period to go along with three rebounds and three steals.
Harrison Barnes topped the 20-point mark for the seventh time this season, scoring 22 points on six-of-15 shooting from the field over 38 minutes of play. De’Aaron Fox struggled once again in the loss, only converting seven of his 19 field goal attempts to finish with 17 points.
Coming Up
Sacramento will play the second game of a back-to-back on Monday night when they complete a four-game home-stand against Chris Paul and a short-handed Phoenix Suns team.
Suns head coach Monty Williams told reporters on Sunday that center Deandre Ayton (leg contusion) is unlikely to play against the Kings on Monday night. Ayton posted a monstrous 21-point, 21-rebound double-double during Sacramento’s thrilling 110-107 win over Phoenix back on October 27th.
Harrison Barnes’ memorable buzzer-beater lifted the Kings past the Suns in a hard-fought contest that went down to the wire, with Barnes leading the Kings with 22 points and nine boards in the win.
With Ayton out, the Kings will have an opportunity to attack the paint and finish the season with a 2-0 record against last season’s Western Conference champions.
Be sure to get all of your Kings vs Suns coverage right here on Sports 1140 KHTK starting at 3:00pm PST on The Jason Ross Show prior to a 7:00pm PST tip-off from Golden 1 Center.
