by Conrad Brunner
November 7, 2001
END RESULT
Beating the Kings at a style they are supposed to dominate, the Pacers outran the NBA's most explosive fast-breaking team in the second half and rode a balanced offense and active defense to hand Sacramento its first loss of the season, 116-104 on Wednesday night before 15,309 fans in Conseco Fieldhouse.
WHAT IT MEANS
It was the Pacers' fourth consecutive victory over the Kings, who haven't won in Indianapolis since 1996, and raised their record to 4-2. Sacramento lost for the first time in five games this season.
UP NEXT
The Pacers continue their four-game homestand against their old rivals, the New York Knicks, on Friday night at 7 p.m. The Knicks are off to a slow start. Though they beat Cleveland 82-64 on Tuesday night, they're just 2-3 and will be without injured big man Marcus Camby, who isn't expected to return until next week.
TURNING POINT
Behind the remarkable shooting of Peja Stojakovic, the Kings controlled the pace into the second half, regularly building leads that forced the Pacers to respond. When the Kings jumped out to a 97-91 lead with 9:10 remaining, the Pacers appeared to be in trouble. But the defense tightened and the offense ignited as the Kings would scored just two points, both on free throws, in a span of 7:20 while the Pacers countered with 19 of their own to grab a 110-99 lead. In that 19-2 run, Sacramento missed all six of its field goal attempts and committed six turnovers.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
The Pacers shot .523 overall and had 32 assists on 46 baskets. Though they were outrebounded 49-38, they committed just 12 turnovers. Six players scored in double figures led by Harrington's 22 and Miller's 20. Jalen Rose added 18, Jermaine O'Neal recovered from a bad first half to score 16, Austin Croshere came off the bench for 11 and Jamaal Tinsley had 10. O'Neal had nine rebounds and six blocked shots. Tinsley had eight assists while Rose and Miller had six apiece. Travis Best had four steals. Sacramento shot .469 overall, just .412 in the second half and six of 16 in the fourth quarter. Stojakovic produced a game-high 36, but his only basket of the fourth quarter came with less than two minutes remaining when the game already had been decided. Mike Bibby scored 19, Doug Christie 14, Vlade Divac 12 and Hedo Turkoglu 12. Divac had 10 rebounds, but four other Kings had at least seven. Divac also led the team with six assists.
STRATEGY/TACTICS
Essentially, the Pacers had only to stick to the plan, and never quit running. They would fall into occasional lapses but Thomas would invariably make a substitution that would bring energy and life off the bench, either from Harrington or Croshere, with Best once showing a steady hand at the wheel. Tinsley's open-court passing appears to be having a contagious effect on his teammates, as the fast-break ball movement has been spectacular, at times.
NOTEWORTHY
There was no fast start for O'Neal on this night. After scoring the Pacers' first nine points against Toronto and eight of the first 10 against Philadelphia, he struggled through a poor start, and he was two of 13 through three quarters before finishing strong. ... In a game filled with spectacular shooting, it was fitting that the most breathtaking shot came from Miller. With six-tenths of a second remaining in the half, Miller caught a sideline inbounds pass in the air, twisted and heaved a 32-foot shot that swished at the buzzer. It was actually the second successful desperation shot in a row for the Pacers, as Rose pulled up and hit a 30-footer immediately before, but that basket was waved off by a pre-shot foul against the Kings, setting up the inbounds play. ... Perhaps lost in the hubbub of the victory was a quietly solid performance from Jonathan Bender, who scored seven points in 10 minutes off the bench.
- By CONRAD BRUNNER