Indiana Pacers Embarrassed By Sacramento Kings In Worst Loss Of Season

SACRAMENTO — The Indiana Pacers have had a few losses this season that have left them looking inferior to their opponent. But they haven’t had a game where they’ve been outclassed or embarrassed from wire to wire. Usually they could succeed in at least a small part in every game.

Wednesday night’s game against the Sacramento Kings was not a typical game. The Pacers have been humiliated for the first time this season. It was their first loss by more than 20 points in a game this season, and at one point the Kings’ lead was over 30.

The final score was 137-114 in favor of Sacramento. But the score does a poor job of detailing how this game went. It was too busy for the scoreboard to tell the full story.

This game was more than just a regular season basketball game. Pacers guards Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield were back in Sacramento for the first time since the Kings traded them to the Pacers in February. Opposite them was Domantas Sabonis, who went from Indiana to the kings in the same trade. He has yet to play against Blue and Gold since the deal.

Every player involved said that the game was just a normal game for them. They all claimed it was just another game on the schedule. But fans knew it was more than them. They often cheered. They booed regularly. Sacramento believers made sure this fight wasn’t just a typical night at the office.

“We knew this was going to be a tough game and environment,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said after the game. Hield, starting for the Pacers, was met with boos all night and the Golden 1 center was loud after all the Kings made a basket. “I think it’s at my expense. We just didn’t have our boys ready… I hadn’t prepared them for what was to come. So that’s on me and they played great and we really fought.”

Hield started poorly, missing his first four shots. He recovered and hit six of his next nine, but it was clear he was looking for a bucket early on. He ended up with a nice outing of 17 points in 13 shots.

However, Haliburton never got going after a standing ovation before the game. He scored just nine points and finished his worst game of the season with just three shots fired. His passing game was outstanding again, he had ten assists in 25 minutes. But the Kings made life miserable for him with double teams and a vigorous defensive plan.

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“Fox did a great job in forcing him to leave,” Kings guard Malik Monk said of Sacramento’s strategy for defending Haliburton. “He’s great when he’s going to the right, but not as efficient when he’s going to the left.”

With Haliburton having an off night and Hield starting slow, the Pacers got off on the wrong foot. And it was contagious. Myles Turner, who had a stellar month in November, finished the tournament with four points and six rebounds. The Pacers bench shot 17/48. Jalen Smith was the only Blue and Gold member to have a strong night, but he suffered a contused face in the third quarter, ending his 22-point night early.

Defensively, blue and gold looked distant and disinterested. The Kings sprinted to 56 points in the paint and 31 fast break points. Of course, it was easy for the fast home team to get out and run, as the Pacers often missed shots. But they ripped up the Indiana defense with their spread pick and roll style.

“I feel like we didn’t keep them as many points as we usually do in the first half,” Pacers center Isaiah Jackson said after the game. Carlisle noted that he thought the transition game was the difference. “We were a step too slow and they had the big picture. So, tough night for us,” he said.

And the fans were loud and involved at every step. The closest the Pacers came to the Kings was in the second half on 12 points, and Sacramento immediately went on a 9-0 run at that point. From then on, the audience was relentless.

That game was the worst the Pacers have seen all season. Maybe it was the emotion of the game and the shifting dynamic of a typical night. Maybe it was a basketball hangover from the team’s most exciting win of the season on Monday. Maybe the Kings are just a bad matchup for the Pacers. Whatever it was, the blue and gold looked and played terrible. You deserve to be crushed.

Indiana is now 12-9 with four more away games to come. They have lost three of their last five games and are showing signs of vulnerability. Friday’s game in Utah is key for the blues and golds.

“We’re going to get out of here and move on to the next stop and do better,” Carlisle said after the game. After being outclassed by the Kings on Wednesday, it’s hard to imagine the Pacers doing much worse.