Kings get booed at home during blowout loss to Indiana Pacers. ‘We probably deserved it’
The Kings announced a sellout crowd of 17,832 for Sunday’s game against the Indiana Pacers. By the time it was over, the arena was almost empty.
The Kings got booed off the floor during a blowout loss, falling 122-95 to the Pacers as pressure continues to mount in Sacramento.
The Kings have lost the first four games of a five-game homestand, matching their longest losing streak of the season while falling a season-high four games under .500.
Kings guard Kevin Huerter said he understands the frustration fans are feeling.
“You never want to get booed at home, but we probably deserve it,” Huerter said. “We just lost three in a row and then you get beat by 30 on your home court during Christmas time. They deserve better.”
Pascal Siakam posted 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers (14-15), who have won four in a row and five of their last six. Myles Turner scored 15 points. Former Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton had 14 points and eight assists while T.J. McConnell came off the bench to put up 12 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists.
De’Aaron Fox had 23 points, five rebounds and seven assists to lead the Kings (13-17), who are 6-11 at home and 12th in the Western Conference, 2 ½ games out of the final play-in spot.
Domantas Sabonis had 17 points and 21 rebounds. Malik Monk scored 14 points and Keegan Murray had 10 while DeMar DeRozan was held to two points on 1-of-7 shooting.
Monk was asked if he can make sense of the team’s struggles given the talent on the roster.
“Yes and no,” he said. “I was with the Lakers with a talented team and we didn’t make the playoffs.”
Asked what prevents a talented team from playing up to its potential, Monk said: “Not playing together, like we’ve been doing all season. We’ll have a great half and then we’ll go back to one-pass shots, no-pass shots. We’ve just got to continue to move the ball.”
Monk rejected the idea that the Kings are no longer united, but he said they have to play together.
“We’re all together,” Monk said. “That s--- is just embarrassing. Once we take one-pass, zero-pass shots, miss, they get a long rebound, go out in transition. Now, all our heads are down, so it’s just not playing offense the right way, not moving the ball.”
Sacramento shot 31.2% from the field in the second half while getting outscored 70-43. Even Pacers coach Rick Carlisle sympathized with what the Kings are going through.
“This is a nightmare scenario for Sacramento, third game in four days and they’re playing a team that’s been resting for two days,” Carlisle said. “Everybody’s going to go through these stretches.”
The Kings scored only two points in the first four minutes, going 1 of 6 from the field and 0 of 3 from 3-point range, but then Fox got going. He hit two 3-pointers and a midrange jumper, scoring eight points in a span of 1:52 to jumpstart his team’s offense.
Sacramento went up by as many as six and led 23-21 at the end of the first period. The Kings stretched the lead to nine early in the second quarter while Haliburton struggled to find a rhythm.
Haliburton finally made his first shot with 5:51 to play in the first half. He hit another 3-pointer with 55.1 seconds remaining to put the Pacers up by five, but Monk answered with a 3 of his own and then made a driving layup at the buzzer to tie the game at the half.
The Kings found themselves trailing by 12 after being outscored 21-9 to start the second half. That elicited a chorus of boos from the home crowd and a wave of “Keon Ellis” chants with fans calling for the defensive-minded guard who has been in and out of coach Mike Brown’s rotation.
Indiana went up 82-68 on a jumper by Siakam. The Kings came back to cut the deficit to six on a basket by Fox, but they trailed 87-78 at the end of the third quarter.
The Pacers staged a 15-2 run early in the fourth quarter as their lead swelled to 21 points with 6:55 remaining, bringing on a chorus of boos as many fans headed for the exits. The Pacers led by as many as 30 in the final minutes.
When asked what more he can do to get his team to play better with the current roster, Brown said he will keep trying to find the right combination of players, specifically mentioning Doug McDermott, Trey Lyles, Isaac Jones and Ellis.
“I’m going to keep searching it,” Brown said. “I was searching a little tonight. We hadn’t shot the ball well the last few games from the 3-point line. We did three games ago when Doug got some good minutes. He helped space the floor and we ended up scoring 120-something points against Denver, so I gave him an opportunity tonight, but if somebody new steps in and gets an opportunity like Trey at the five and Doug on the floor, that probably means somebody is going to be out. Tonight, that was Isaac and Keon. Those guys have been playing for us as of late, but they were out tonight just because the minutes aren’t there.”
Huerter echoed Monk’s sentiments when asked about maximizing the talent on the roster.
“Look at who we played against tonight,” Huerter said. “You guys watched the game, the way they move and flow and they don’t run a lot of plays. They’re unselfish. They play with intent.
“... At times we play like that, and we used to play like that, but sometimes we just revert and I don’t think the ball moves sometimes as it should in the second half. I think guys trying to be aggressive and get in the paint and make plays. We just have to continue to stick to the script and the stuff we talk about. If we can play and be unselfish, you can get the most out of the talent.”
This story was originally published December 22, 2024 at 8:28 PM.
