INDIANAPOLIS – After Kevin Martin's 45-point effort wasn't enough to lift the Kings to a win over Indiana, interim coach Kenny Natt traded his usually calm demeanor for a flustered look. Obviously, his tension wasn't over the one-man show that set a Sacramento-era record for most points off the bench.

"Kevin pretty much carried us all night," Natt said. "We just have to get everyone else on the same page."

Specifically, Natt pointed at point guard Beno Udrih, who was benched for all but 12 minutes of Saturday's 122-117 loss to the Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse. Udrih was not called on during the pivotal fourth quarter, which the Kings entered tied 89-89. As Natt shuffled his guards, the coach said there was a simple reason he didn't have Udrih run the point.

"Not doing his job, that's one way of putting it," Natt said. "Not playing with the intensity and the effort that I know and we all thought he would do and he did last year. So, that's a challenge for him. … Beno is our point guard, but we are having to play other guys out of position and that's not a good thing for us."

Udrih finished shooting 3 of 6 from the field with no assists, one turnover, one steal and four fouls. He said he and Natt aren't seeing eye-to-eye, but did not wish to elaborate.

"It's really hard to say," said Udrih, who signed a five-year deal with the Kings during the summer. "His eyes see it that way and my eyes see it this way. So, I guess we will have to discuss that. I can't really talk about it. I just see different stuff on how our plays go through."

Asked if he had reached a comfort level with sharing his position, Udrih said that was partly what he wanted to talk to Natt about.

"We basically have two point guards, two shooting guards, two small forwards," Udrih said. "The way coach Natt is running the game, that's his decision and you can't really argue that. He's the coach."

The coach is asking for more intensity and threatening more time on the bench if he doesn't see it.

"I haven't given up on him," Natt said. "I'm just challenging him. … Now, if he doesn't accept that, we will have to go with whoever we can get out there on the floor who will give us the productivity. Somewhere along the line he has to get the message. And I'm not just picking on Beno. He's not the only one."

Saturday, the Kings were punished from the free-throw line, where the Pacers sank 30 of 35 attempts. Foul trouble hindered Francisco García, who was limited to nine minutes through the first three quarters after picking up three fouls and a technical in the first 4:23 of the game.

At halftime, the Kings had four players with three fouls, including starters Udrih, García and Mikki Moore.

"That's what happens when you aren't focusing in defensively," Natt said.

But the game wasn't primarily lowlights. The Kings hit 14 of 25 three-point attempts (56 percent), while shooting 40 for 85 from the field (47.1 percent). That was a major improvement over Friday, when the Kings shot 33.7 percent from the field in a 98-92 road loss to Detroit.

"We have been playing well and we're real close," said Bobby Jackson, who scored 15 points. "This is better than what we were a couple weeks ago, and I can take that."

Call The Bee's Melody Gutierrez, (916) 326-5521. To get breaking news alerts and game scores sent to your phone, text KINGS to 72737.