Pacers doomed by poor defense in loss to Sacramento Kings as losing streak reaches three

The Pacers wrapped up a back-to-back on Friday night

The Indiana Pacers hosted the Sacramento Kings on Friday night. It was the second night of a back-to-back for the Pacers, who were in New York on Thursday night, so it was going to be a tough game for the blue and gold. The Kings play fast.

The game took on new life before it even began. Tyrese Haliburton, who has been dealing with hamstring injury management for the Pacers, was announced as available to play, but he wasn't a starter. It was his first game coming off the bench since April of his rookie season in 2021.

T.J. McConnell started in his place, and the veteran point guard helped the blue and gold play well early. They were pushing the pace and took an 8-6 lead after less than two minutes, which led to a timeout from Kings head coach Mike Brown.

After the break, the two teams traded buckets, and turnovers, for the next few minutes. Both the Kings and Pacers play fast, so there were a ton of possessions. Bennedict Mathurin was a key scorer for Indiana to open the game.

With half of the first quarter over, the Kings were ahead by just one possession, but they didn't hold it for long. Indiana tied the game a few minutes later, and neither team could get a strong grip on the lead early.

Mathurin hit a jumper to push the Pacers lead to three with just a few minutes left in the quarter, and the Pacers were able to extend that lead a few times as the frame wound down. It was a high scoring period, and Haliburton was on the bench for all of it.

At the end of the first 12 minutes, Indiana led 39-38. Mathurin topped the Pacers with 10 points while Sacramento was paced by De'Aaron Fox with 11.

Haliburton entered the game to start the second quarter, his first appearance of the night. He's been on a minutes restriction the last few games, so it appeared at the time that the blue and gold were trying a different rotational pattern with their star guard.

The Kings were able to surge ahead after three minutes of action in the second period. Trey Lyles, an Indianapolis native, hit consecutive threes for the visitors to give them a 49-47 lead.

Sacramento held on to that advantage through half of the second quarter. They were ahead 57-52 at the time. Haliburton exited with seven points but three turnovers around that moment. On the Kings next possession, they scored again, and Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle took a timeout.

The stoppage did little to slow down the Kings. Their offense was humming and routinely held the lead around seven, which felt in reach for the Pacers despite the flow of the game suggesting otherwise. Sacramento was doing well to keep playing their game and not slowing down.

Indiana just couldn't get enough stops to keep up. They were scoring well and shooting over 60% from the field late in the half, but they were still down nine. Carlisle's team had to be better on the less glamorous end of the floor.

With about one minute left in the half, the Kings took an 11-point lead. It was the largest lead of the game at the time. That advantage was cut to seven at the break as the Kings were ahead 71-64 when halftime came around.

The second half opened with Haliburton on the floor for the Pacers, but the Kings were the team that went on a run. They expanded their lead as high as 14 early in the quarter — they looked excellent.

The Pacers answered and were able to cut it down to single digits again, but not for long. The Kings offense was too hard to stop. Halfway through the quarter, Indiana's deficit was at 13. They were having a tough third quarter.

Indiana took another timeout around that time. They needed a jolt badly, but it was going to take way more defensive focus. They couldn't stop the Kings at all, who were still shooting nearly 57% at the time.

The timeout didn't help the blue and gold. They continued to bleed points and were down by 16 points with three minutes left in the frame. Sacramento was dictating the speed and style of the game while getting whatever shot they wanted.

Indy's team grabbed a little bit of momentum late in the period, but they were still down big. They needed a strong close to the third if they were going to carry any momentum into the final quarter.

In the last minute of the frame, Ben Sheppard hit a three to cut the lead down to 10, but Lyles answered for the visitors. It was 99-88 heading in the final 12 minutes. The Pacers did well to close the gap somewhat, but their defense needed to be better.

Mathurin had 19 points for the Pacers at the time while Domantas Sabonis had 20 for the Kings. The former Pacer was crushing Indiana on the interior, but he was on the bench to open the fourth period. Indiana had to take advantage.

Instead, it was the Kings who started the quarter strong. They ballooned their lead to 16 quickly, which set the tone for the final frame. The Pacers needed more energy.

They got some in the next few minutes. Mathurin was finding ways to score, and Indiana got a few stops in a row to keep the score margin within striking distance. The blue and gold needed to keep up that level if they wanted to have a chance.

Sabonis re-entered soon after, but Indiana found some range and was able to cut the lead to nine. That injected some life into Gainbridge Fieldhouse, there was about six minutes to go at the time. It was 112-103.

The Pacers struggled to get the deficit closer than that. Despite trading buckets a few times, they weren't able to keep up with the Kings and their zippy offense. It was a 15-point game with just over three minutes to go.

Indiana made some inspired plays late, but there wasn't enough time on the clock for it to matter. They cut the lead all the way down to seven in the final minute, but the Kings put them away with two quick buckets right at the basket.

In the end, the final score was 133-122. Haliburton finished with 14 points, one assist, and five turnovers. Mathurin had 31 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Fox and Sabonis combined for 49 points for the Kings.

The Pacers fell to 27-23 with the loss, their third in a row. They will look to bounce back on Sunday when they take on the Hornets in Charlotte.

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