Early timeout sparks turnaround in Sacramento Kings’ 127-122 win over Indiana Pacers
Kings coach Luke Walton didn’t like what he saw in the opening minute against the Indiana Pacers on Monday night at Golden 1 Center.
The Pacers were parading to the rim after two early turnovers helped Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis and Justin Holiday start the game with a series of dunks and layups.
Walton called a timeout 64 seconds into the game and the Kings responded, giving him a much better effort over the final 47 minutes. Harrison Barnes, De’Aaron Fox and Richaun Holmes had a lot to do with that.
Barnes scored 30 points and grabbed eight rebounds, leading the Kings to a 127-122 victory over the Pacers. Barnes was incredibly efficient, making 10 of 14 from the field, 2 of 3 from 3-point range and 8 of 8 from the free-throw line.
Fox finished with 21 points, nine assists and five rebounds for the Kings (5-6), who had lost two in a row and five of their last six. Buddy Hield, who came into the game shooting career lows of 34.8% from the field and 33.7% from 3-point range, made 6 of 11 from 3-point range to finish with 18 points.
Holmes was outstanding, too, posting 16 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high six blocked shots. Rookie Tyrese Haliburton added 12 points, four assists and three rebounds.
Sabonis had 28 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers (6-4). Malcolm Brogdon had 24 points and nine assists. Oladipo finished with 21 points and six steals with four rebounds and four assists.
Lazy passes and a lack of movement contributed to a couple of turnovers as the Pacers jumped out to a 6-0 lead, but the Kings looked like a different team coming out of Walton’s early timeout. They went inside to Barnes for an easy basket and then forced a shot-clock violation on the first in a series of strong defensive possessions.
Walton said he took the timeout to remind his team the Pacers are one of the most physical teams in the league, something they saw on film and discussed in the scouting report.
“Now we feel what we’ve been talking about, so let’s engage ourselves in this game now knowing that, and I thought they did a nice job of responding to that,” Walton said.
The game was tied at the end of the first quarter and the Kings carried a 65-64 lead into the break. They shot 57.1% from the field, knocked down six 3-pointers and went 9 of 10 at the free-throw line in the opening half.
Indiana went up by three early in the third quarter, but Sacramento staged a 15-3 run to take an 89-77 lead on a 3-pointer by Hield. The Kings led 97-93 at the end of the third and went up by 10 early in the fourth, but the Pacers battled back to take a 115-113 lead on a basket by Oladipo with 3:34 remaining.
The teams traded leads until Hield knocked down a 3-pointer to put the Kings up 121-117 with 1:09 to go, sparking a decisive 9-2 run for Sacramento. Fox added the exclamation mark with an emphatic dunk.
“I would say this was probably our best win just because it was consistent throughout,” Walton said. “It wasn’t a ton of highs and a ton of lows. It was a consistent level of basketball and that’s what you’re looking for in your team.”
Haliburton agreed it was the team’s best win of the season. He said there was one primary factor.
“Our energy level,” he said. “It felt like we were more engaged and we played a lot harder. Guys were having fun. You see guys smiling and really enjoying what they’re doing.”
Hield extends streak
Walton said Hield and Holmes would be game-time decisions after both were listed as questionable on the team’s injury report due to ankle injuries. Hield’s streak of consecutive games was in jeopardy, but both players were in the starting lineup when the game tipped off about 90 minutes later.
Holmes was experiencing left ankle soreness after injuring the ankle in the fourth quarter of Friday’s 144-123 loss to the Toronto Raptors. He missed Saturday’s 125-99 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers after being ruled out shortly before tipoff.
Hield sprained his right ankle in the first quarter of Saturday’s game against the Blazers when he landed on Harrison Barnes’ foot while contesting a shot by Portland guard CJ McCollum. Hield finished the game, but he was listed on the injury report Sunday and Monday.
Hield appeared in his 230th consecutive game after being cleared to play against the Pacers. He hasn’t missed a game since Nov. 20, 2017, and has only missed two games in his career.
Injury report
Pacers: OUT — T.J. Warren (foot); T.J. McConnell (personal); Goga Bitadze (ankle); Jeremy Lamb (ACL); Brian Bowen II (groin); Jalen Lecque (ankle).
Kings: OUT — DaQuan Jeffries (ankle).
Upcoming Kings schedule
Jan. 13 vs. Portland Trail Blazers, 7 p.m.
Jan. 15 vs. Los Angeles Clippers, 7 p.m.
Jan. 17 vs. New Orleans Pelicans, 6 p.m.
Jan. 20 at Los Angeles Clippers, 7 p.m.
Jan. 22 vs. New York Knicks, 7 p.m.
This story was originally published January 11, 2021 at 9:42 PM.
