Pacers-Kings Preview

By MATT BEARDMORE
Posted Jan 17 2012 1:46PM

Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel is pleased with his team's defense, but the offense still needs some work.

Sacramento Kings coach Keith Smart can relate to those concerns.

The Pacers go for a season-high fourth consecutive victory Wednesday night at Sacramento in their only meeting with the Kings in 2011-12.

Indiana (9-3) is among the league leaders in scoring defense with 88.9 points per game, field-goal percentage defense at 41.5, steals per game at 9.6 and blocks with 5.7. The stingy play at the defensive end has given Indiana a chance to match its best start since 2004-05 with a win Wednesday.

The Pacers, though, are shooting 41.3 percent and averaging 93.2 points - 96.0 during their winning streak - as the team has struggled to adapt to the increased tempo Vogel is stressing.

"The total points per game is as much a byproduct of the pace of the game and we're not playing fast enough," he told the Pacers' official website. "Hopefully we'll start getting our scores up into the hundreds but our defense has been very solid. I'm very pleased where we are with that."

Coming off a three-day break after a 97-83 victory over Boston on Saturday - the team's longest layoff of the season other than the All-Star break next month - Indiana will play 10 of 14 on the road as it begins a three-game trip.

Forward Danny Granger doesn't seem too concerned about where the Pacers play.

"I think the message is that we're a force to be reckoned with in the East," he said after scoring a team-best 21 points against the Celtics. "It's not one of those fluke things where we just started having a good beginning of the season. We're actually a legitimate contender in the East. We're right there, and we should be recognized as that."

Granger scored a season-high 37 in the Pacers' last game in Sacramento, a 107-98 victory Nov. 30, 2010.

The Kings (4-10) return home following a 1-4 trip that ended with a 99-86 defeat to Minnesota on Monday.

Sacramento, loser of five of six, is scoring 90.1 points per game - 88.3 in seven games since Smart replaced the fired Paul Westphal - and shooting a league-worst 39.6 percent.

"I've got the simplest offense you can run," said Smart, 2-5 as Kings coach. "You just move it to a spot and move it to the next spot. But for whatever reason we're trying to make the play ourselves with the defense set, looking at the basketball."

Guard Tyreke Evans, though, is one Sacramento player having trouble in that offense. He has totaled 12 points and gone 4 of 19 from the field in the last two games.

"We've got to find a better way to swing the ball a few times and take better shots," Evans said.

Indiana has held opponents to 84.0 points and 40.2 percent shooting during its 5-1 stretch.

Evans had 16 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in the Pacers' last visit. In his first game back after missing 19 with plantar fasciitis, he finished with six points with eight boards in a 110-93 victory at Indiana on March 25.

DeMarcus Cousins scored 19.0 points per game with 11.0 rebounds versus the Pacers in 2010-11, while Indiana center Roy Hibbert totaled 27 points and 13 boards in those matchups.

The last five games between these teams in Sacramento have been decided by nine or fewer points, with Indiana winning three.

Kings rally in 4th quarter to beat Pacers 92-88

Posted Jan 19 2012 2:31AM

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) No one in the stunned Sacramento Kings locker room could remember winning a game when they shot so poorly.

Marcus Thornton scored 17 points and the Kings rallied from 14 points down in the fourth quarter to beat the Indiana Pacers 92-88, snapping a three-game losing streak despite shooting just 30.1 percent from the field.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time the franchise had won a game while shooting under 31 percent was Dec. 1, 1957, when the Cincinnatti Royals edged the Minneapolis Lakers 90-89. Denver was the last NBA team to pick up a win while shooting under 31 percent, hiting 29.2 percent in an 80-72 win over San Antonio on Oct. 29, 2003.

"I didn't know we shot that bad," said Francisco Garcia, who came off the bench and scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter when the Kings outscored Indiana 26-8 and forced nine turnovers. "It was good for us to get this win even though we shot such a bad percentage. But we're not going to keep shooting like that."

Even though they shot horribly in the fourth quarter (6 of 25), the Kings managed to dominate, thanks in a large part to its defense. Sacramento went to a zone defense and hustling reserves like Travis Outlaw, Isaiah Thomas, and Garcia helped make it work.

The Pacers began the final period by missing 8 of 11 shots and squandered its big lead. It didn't help that Indiana was sloppy with its passing and also committed 10 fouls in the fourth quarter. The Kings shot 12 of 15 on free throws in the fourth and their final six points were from the line.

"I guess they felt like they couldn't guard us man-to-man, so they went to a zone and we had no answer for it," Roy Hibbert said. "We were frustrated out there. I guess we still have to work on that extensively tommorow at practice."

DeMarcus Cousins had 13 points and tied a career-high with 19 rebounds for Sacramento.

Darren Collison and Danny Granger scored 16 points each for Indiana, which snapped a three-game winning streak. Hibbert and David West added 13 points each and Paul George had 10 points and nine rebounds.

The Pacers shot 3 for 16 in the final period and had nine turnovers. Neither team had a field goal in the final 3:24.

"Obviously this was a tough loss for us," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "To give up a lead like that iin the fourth quarter is definitely a missed opportunity for us. They went to a small lineup and were able to do some things."

Kings coach Keith Smart said the coaching staff had discussed going to a zone at their morning shoot-around if the proper situation arose during the game. It was a move that worked from the start with the Kings going to a smaller, quicker lineup.

"(The zone) was the right call at the right time with the group we had on the floor," Smart said. "We got really aggressive, and when you're aggressive in the NBA you can usually get the calls."

Ahead 90-87, the Kings fouled Granger intentionally with 5.6 seconds left. Granger made the first free throw but his lane violation gave the ball back to the Kings. Garcia made two free throws a second later to seal the victory.

Garcia also made two free throws with 2:20 left, giving the Kings an 88-87 lead, their first advantage since midway through the second quarter. Fouled again with 54 seconds left, Garcia made 1 of 2 free throws for an 89-87 lead.

Thomas is a 5-foot-9 rookie who was the last player chosen in the second round of the 2011 draft. The feisty point guard was instrumental in the fourth quarter with his energy and hustle. He scored five of his eight points in the fourth.

"Coach always tells me to stay ready and be patient and that's what I'm doing," Thomas said. "I just knew I had to change the game somehow and bring my energy defensively and offensively."

Sacramento went on a 10-2 run to begin the fourth. Tyreke Evans was fouled on an off-balance layup in traffic, and his three-point play pulled the Kings to 82-76 with just over two minutes gone in the quarter.

After a quiet first half, Collison got going in the third quarter. The speedy point guard scored 13 points to help Indiana outscore the Kings 30-21 and take an 80-66 lead heading into the fourth.

Collison, who had two first-half points, opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer and a layup off a steal. A basket by George put the Pacers ahead 63-50 at the 8:32 mark.

Both West and Hibbert scored 11 points in the the opening half when the Pacers led 50-45. Cousins had nine points and 12 rebounds, including 10 at the offensive end, for the Kings, who shot a dismal 33 percent.

NOTES: Granger, the Pacers' leading scorer, came into the game shooting 33 percent. ... Jason Thompson made his first start of the season, replacing J.J. Hickson at forward for the Kings. ... Cousins missed all five shots and two free throws in the opening quarter, but had six rebounds in seven minutes. ... Kings rookie Jimmer Fredette continues to struggle with his shot, missing all four attempts and going scoreless in six minutes. He entered the game shooting just over 34 percent.

Notebook: Kings 92, Pacers 88

By James Ham, for NBA.com
Posted Thursday January 19, 2012 2:42AM

THE FACTS: It wasn't pretty, but the Sacramento Kings erased a 16-point third quarter deficit to beat the Indiana Pacers 92-88 at Power Balance Pavilion on Wednesday.

DeMarcus Cousins scored 13 points and tied his career high with 19 rebounds. Veteran Francisco Garcia sparked the Kings off the bench, finishing with 16 points and icing the game with a pair of free throws in the closing seconds.

The Pacers had five players finish in double figures, but were outscored 26-8 in the decisive fourth quarter and lost for just the fourth time this season.

QUOTABLE: "I don't know how we did it, but this group has some resilience. They fought, they found a lineup that worked, they got us back in the game and then they closed it out."
-- Kings coach Keith Smart on the victory

THE STAT: The Pacers led by as many as 16 points and walked into the fourth quarter up 80-66. The Kings not only erased the deficit, but took the lead, 88-87, with 2:20 left in the game.

TURNING POINT: With 3:04 left in the game and his team trailing 86-87, Cousins stepped in front of the Pacers' Danny Granger and drew an offensive foul. The Pacers scored only one more point the rest of the way.

HOT: Darren Collison in the third quarter. The former UCLA Bruin lit up rookie Isaiah Thomas, scoring 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting in the quarter.

NOT: Tyreke Evans looked lost and out of sorts through three quarters, scoring just four points on 2-for-7 shooting. The former Rookie of the Year finished with eight points on the night, but added six assists and seven rebounds.

GOOD MOVE: Starting Jason Thompson. Since veteran Chuck Hayes dislocated his shoulder on Jan. 5, Smart had penciled in J.J. Hickson alongside Cousins in the starting lineup. That changed Wednesday, as Thompson took full advantage of the opportunity. The fourth-year forward/center scored nine points and grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds in the Kings' come-from-behind victory.

NOTABLE: Rookie Jimmer Fredette was scoreless in just six minutes of action, missing all four of his shots.

UP NEXT: For the Pacers, Friday @ Golden State, Sunday @ L.A. Lakers, Tuesday vs. Orlando. For the Kings, Friday @ San Antonio, Saturday @ Memphis, Monday @ Portland.

• Pacers: --
• Kings: Honeycutt, Whiteside

• Pacers: Granger
• Kings: Cousins, Smart

• Lead Changes: 7
• Times Tied: 7

• Arena: Power Balance Pavilion, Sacramento, CA
• Officials: #17 Joe Crawford, #27 Dick Bavetta, #7 Kevin Fehr
• Attendance: 14170
• Duration: 2:29