Revolution halted as the Sacramento Kings beat the Indiana Pacers
By Ben Gibson
A loss to the Sacramento Kings would have hurt more for the Indiana Pacers, but tonight’s loss to an improved Sac-Town squad still hurts.
The monarchy survived: The Indiana Pacers came up a point short of beating the Sacramento Kings on the road. Sacramento’s rejection of democracy notwithstanding, they deserved the win as Indiana was responsible for their own undoing as much as the Kings were responsible for keeping the Pacers from storming their castle.
Bojan Bogdanovic‘s shot with 4.6 remaining looked good, but it didn’t fall. A jump ball on the rebound breathed hope into the Pacers changes, but a missed jump ball — recovered by Darren Collison, one of the jumpers — benefitted the Kings as they held on for the win.
Ending the road trip 2-2 isn’t what the Pacers were hoping for, but considering the circumstances, breaking even isn’t the worst way to go. And a year ago, a loss to the Sacramento Kings would be a black-eye, even with Victor Oladipo out. These Kings, however, are a bit more feisty.
84. 110. 100. Final. 111
Remember when we called Bojan Bogdanovic inconsistent?
The Croatian led all scorers with 27 points and surprisingly with only two 3-pointers. Bojan Bogdanovic arguably only had one bad game all season and only three where he scored single digits.
Indiana needs Oladipo’s creation and clutch basket making, but Bojan shed the idea of his inconsistency this season as he’s been the Pacers second-leading scorer without some of the hills and valleys of a season ago.
Darren Collison giveth, Darren Collison taketh
Darren Collison’s 12 assists had the Indiana offense clicking — they only had a higher offensive rating with Tyreke Evans on the floor — but some of his late-game turnovers led to the loss, though pinning it entirely on him is lazy.
His six turnovers were balanced out by those assists as well as a pair of 3-pointers, but for as positive as Collison was last season, he regressed back to breaking even so far this season.
Keep passing Doug McDermott the ball
Doug McDermott is now averaging over 12 points a game since Indiana made of point of feeding him the ball. On Saturday night he was 5 of 8 from the field and 2 of 4 from deep on his way to a 14 point performance.
Making sure the opportunities continue when Oladipo returns and Evans moves back to the bench should remain a priority for the Pacers.
Remain confident, Myles Turner
Myles Turner recorded his third double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds. When he reacts and doesn’t think — something that often leads to waiting too long to shoot or pass the ball — the Pacers get what they need out of the 4th year player.
Turner silenced his doubters for now, but the quick thinking on offense helps keep the ball moving whether he ends up taking the shot or not.
C+. See above.. PG. Indiana Pacers. DARREN COLLISON
A. Bojan Bogdanovic passed Victor Oladipo on the season scoring list during the game. This is now Bojan’s team. Kapetan, kapetan.. SF. Indiana Pacers. BOJAN BOGDANOVIC
B. A typical “Oh, don’t mind me here” performance with 14 points, 4 rebounds, and enough hustle plays to make Jeff Foster smile.. PF. Indiana Pacers. THADDEUS YOUNG
C. Indiana Pacers. MYLES TURNER. A. 14 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 assists while shooting 60 percent from the field. Above average defense as usual, too.
DOMANTAS SABONIS. C. He was hurt coming into the night and it was apparent in the box score it took a late surge for his points (6), assists (5), rebounds (7), and blocks (2) to surpass is fouls (5) and turnovers (7). He’ll be fine when he heals up.. C. Indiana Pacers
B. #PeakReke showed up early, but he ended up with more of a #AcceptableReke performance with 12 points and 4 assists. His trend of having a higher 3-point percentage than field goal percentage continued with a 5 of 12 performance from the floor (41.7 percent) and 2 of 4 from deep (50 percent).. SG. Indiana Pacers. TYREKE EVANS
CoJo is a fun-sized Thaddeus Young in the sense that his contributions aren’t always apparent within the game even if they show up on the stat sheet. Joseph had 7 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists while giving the bench some much-needed defense.. PG. Indiana Pacers. CORY JOSEPH. B
A-. It’s late, and I don’t have any more thoughts on him. Go back up and read that again if you want.. SF. Indiana Pacers. DOUG MCDERMOTT
Only played 6 minutes, but scored 5 points while grabbing a pair of rebounds and handing out an assist.. PG. Indiana Pacers. AARON HOLIDAY. C+
Next. Victor Oladipo out 'indefinitely'. dark
The Pacers take a few days off before returning home to host the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday at 7 p.m.