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Game Rewind: Pacers 106, Kings 100

Game Recap

Through two quarters on Wednesday night in Sacramento, the Pacers looked like they were falling into an all-too-familiar pattern. Indiana trailed the Kings by 19 points at halftime and appeared well on their way to their 15th loss in 20 road contests this season.

But the Pacers (22-19) mounted a major charge in the second half, stunning Sacramento (16-25), 106-100, in the first stop of a three-game Western Conference road trip.

"I thought we came out the second half and we scrapped, just took it one possession at a time, got stops defensively," said Pacers head coach Nate McMillan, who collected his 500th career victory on Wednesday. "(We were) able to get a rhythm, spread them out offensively, and just fight our way back into this game."

For the Kings, it was a disappointing close to a frustrating seven-game homestand, during which Sacramento managed to win only once.

Bit by bit, the Pacers clawed their way out of the hole, and a pair of free throws by Jeff Teague with 2:52 remaining cut what was once a 22-point deficit to one.

Kings forward Matt Barnes answered with two foul shots on the other end, but Paul George followed that with a fadeaway jumper on the next trip down the court.

After DeMarcus Cousins missed a spinning layup on Sacramento's next possession, Teague raced down the court and drew another foul. The former Pike High School star hit both shots from the charity stripe to put Indiana in front, 99-98, the Pacers' first lead since the 9:32 mark in the first quarter.

After a Cousins turnover, George buried another jumper to extend Indiana's cushion.

In the final minute, Cousins drove into the lane looking to make it a one-point game, but Thaddeus Young rose up and swatted the All-NBA center's shot off the backboard. On the ensuing fastbreak, Teague found Myles Turner all alone under the basket for the game-sealing dunk.

George led the Pacers with 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting. Teague added 22 points, seven rebounds, and 11 assists. Al Jefferson was the third Pacers player to score at least 20 points, setting a new season high with 20 on 9-of-12 shooting in just 16 minutes off the bench.

The Kings got off to a hot start on Wednesday. Sacramento went 13-for-22 (59.1 percent) from the field in the first quarter, jumping out to a 34-21 lead.

The Pacers managed to mount a bit of a charge in the second quarter, thanks to Jefferson providing a nice boost off the bench and some sloppy play by Sacramento.

Jefferson connected on his first five shots and scored 14 points in the first half.

"I got in the right spots, they made good passes," Jefferson said. "They were easy shots for me. Once (I) hit a couple and I did get the ball on the block, I just went to work."

The Kings, meanwhile, committed seven turnovers in the first seven minutes of the second quarter, allowing Indiana to cut the deficit to eight points.

But Sacramento responded with another strong spurt, outscoring Indiana 20-9 over the final five minutes of the half to open up a healthy halftime lead.

The Pacers started the second half strong, scoring the first six points of the third quarter. Thanks in large part to Teague, who scored 11 points and dished out three assists in the frame, Indiana hung around and closed the period with a 12-5 run to trim the Kings' lead to eight.

Sacramento suffered a significant loss in the closing seconds of the third quarter, when second-leading scorer Rudy Gay collapsed after suffering an apparent leg injury while driving along the baseline. Gay, who had a game-high 21 points at the time of his injury, had to be carried off the court and into the locker room. He did not return.

The Blue & Gold continued their rally in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. Back-to-back baskets from Jefferson followed by a George steal-and-slam made it an 85-83 game with 8:08 to play.

The Kings kept Indiana at arm's length over the next several minutes, but the Pacers made the big plays in crunch time to come away with the win.

Cousins led all scorers with 25 points and recorded his first triple-double of the season by also tallying 12 rebounds and 11 assists. But he also had nine turnovers and did not make a field goal in the entire second half.

"We (were) moving out of the way (in the first half), we were letting Cousins do what he wanted to do," Jefferson said. "I think finally our pride stepped up and we just got a backbone and started playing together."

Turner was the fourth and final Pacers player in double figures, scoring 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting.

With the win, the Pacers have now won seven of their last eight contests. Indiana will next travel to Los Angeles, where the Pacers will meet the Lakers on Friday night at 10:30 PM ET. The three-game trip concludes on Saturday in Utah.

Inside the Numbers

Jefferson's 20 points are his most since joining the Pacers. He last surpassed 20 points with a 26-point effort against Orlando while playing for Charlotte on April 13, 2016.

McMillan is the 29th coach in NBA history to reach 500 career wins and the fourth active coach, joining Gregg Popovich, Doc Rivers, and Rick Carlisle. McMillan won 212 games over five seasons in Seattle, racked up 266 wins over seven seasons in Portland, and now has won 22 of his first 41 games as head coach in Indiana.

Teague's double-double was his team-leading ninth of the season and his third in the last five games. He now has double-digit assists in 11 contests this season.

Cousins' triple-double was the fifth of his career and his fourth over the last three seasons.

The Pacers had plenty of success getting out and running, outscoring Sacramento 26-7 in fastbreak points.

Indiana forced the Kings into 21 turnovers on the night, one shy of the season high by a Pacers opponent, and scored 23 points off of Sacramento's giveaways.

You Can Quote Me On That

"We just had to gut and grind. That's all it comes down to is staying sound — staying sound and solid — and one basket at a time. I think we did a great job of not looking to make big plays to get us back right away. We took [it] one play at a time and it worked." -George on the Pacers' comeback

"We have some fighters in this locker room – guys who don't want to give up — they believed in one another and tonight was a big game for us. Proved we could really win on the road against some adversity – having a bad first half — and we came out and played well." -Teague

"To have the opportunity to be a part of this league, this long and to win 500 games in the NBA is really a blessing. It is great that's the way that we won this game tonight. The most important thing is being consistent and showing that we can be road tough. I'll take the win and certainly take the 500th win." -McMillan

"They came out and played with a lot more energy in the second half and we, for one reason or another, did not come out with as much force as we did to start the game. It is a learning process and they are a good team for a reason over there." -Kings head coach Dave Joerger

Stat of the Night

The Pacers outscored the Kings 65-40 in the second half, going 22-for-34 from the field (64.7 percent) over the final two quarters while holding Sacramento to just 12-of-36 shooting (33.3 percent).

Noteworthy

  • The Pacers now lead the all-time series with the Kings 45-39 and are 15-16 in games played in Sacramento. Wednesday's game was Indiana's first visit to the new Golden 1 Center, which opened this season.
  • Wednesday's win snapped a four-game losing streak against the Kings, who had swept the season series witht the Pacers in each of the last two years.
  • Reports out of Sacramento indicate that Gay tore his left Achilles tendon. Prior to his injury, Gay passed former Pacers star Chuck Person (13,568 career points) on the NBA's all-time scoring list.

Up Next

The Pacers will face the Lakers on Friday, Jan. 20 in Los Angeles at 10:30 PM ET. Indiana defeated Los Angeles on Nov. 1 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, 115-108.

Tickets

The Pacers return home on Monday, Jan. 23 to host the New York Knicks at 8:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »