Kings sneak past Pacers on last-second putback by Jones in Haliburton-Hield reunion game
A last-second putback by Damian Jones gave the Kings a dramatic 110-109 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Trey Lyles missed a 3-pointer with time winding down, but Jones was in position for the putback with 0.2 seconds remaining, helping the Kings escape with a win over former teammates Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield.
“It felt good,” Jones said. “How often do you hit a game winner? It felt good to get a (win against) former teammates just rub it in a little bit.”
Rookie Davion Mitchell had 25 points and seven assists for the Kings (26-48), who opened a five-game road trip with a win after losing three in a row at home. Mitchell started again in place of De’Aaron Fox, who missed his third game due to right hand soreness. Mitchell made 10 of 15 field-goal attempts, including a step-back jumper that cut the deficit to one with 18.7 seconds remaining.
Chimezie Metu came off the bench to score 22 points for the Kings. Jones added 12 points. Donte DiVincenzo had 11 points, six rebounds and eight assists.
Hield had 25 points, seven assists and four steals for the Pacers (25-48), making 10 of 18 from the field and 5 of 8 from 3-point range. Haliburton had 13 points on 4-of-14 shooting with 15 assists and three steals.
The Kings faced the Pacers for the first time since making the Feb. 8 trade that sent Haliburton, Hield and Tristan Thompson to Indiana in exchange for Domantas Sabonis, Justin Holiday and Jeremy Lamb.
“It was cool to see them again,” Jones said. “It’s been a little minute since February, so just to see them again and chat it up, it was good.”
Sabonis was out due to a bone bruise in his left knee. Lamb finished with 10 points, five rebounds and three assists. Holiday struggled, finishing with three points on 1-of-6 shooting with four turnovers.
The Kings shot 52.4% from the field while holding the Pacers to 46.2%. They had a 48-36 advantage in points off the bench.
“Obviously, it’s a good win for us, especially (because) we’ve been struggling on the road,” interim Kings coach Alvin Gentry said. “So just to come in and find a way to win a game on the road is really important to us, and it also makes a statement that these guys haven’t quit.”
