Sacramento Kings  (4-11)  92

The Kings reside in Sacramento, California. However, the real kings were the Indiana Pacers on Friday night at Sleep Train Arena in northern Cali.

For the second game in a row on their west-coast swing, the Pacers used stifling defense and followed the leadership of David West and George Hill en route to an 8-8 record.

The fun part about the past two games for Indiana: there has been nothing flashy from the blue and gold. They have simply played great defense and won the games in the final moments of action.

The Indiana Pacers played a solid first half against the Kings. They never pulled away from Keith Smart’s squad for a double-digit lead, but also never fell into more than a two- or three-possession deficit. Late in the second quarter, it looked as though Sacramento was gaining some momentum close to halftime. Then George Hill ended that idea with a bank-shot from the top of the key as time expired to give the Pacers a 43-40 edge after 24 minutes.

David West had a game-high 15 points in the first half. He certainly made the case for not wanting his team to have a letdown after an impressive victory against the Lakers on Tuesday night at the Staples Center. West led by example, and Hill joined him in the second half.

West brought his offense back onto the hardwood in the third quarter and Hill busted out his aggressiveness as well. The Indiana Pacers put up 29 points in the third period, only to outscore the Kings by two. Indiana held on to a five-point advantage entering the fourth quarter.

With the score at 74-71 in favor of the Pacers, Hill brought the ball up the court and nailed a three-point basket to bump the lead to six. On the next possession, Hill found Sam Young on the left wing for a second consecutive three and a nine-point lead for the Pacers at 80-71.

Indiana held onto the lead for the remainder of the game, but Sacramento did not give up. They made it a two-point game at 94-92 with 11.5 seconds to play. But they had to play the foul game at that point, as the Pacers made three free throws in the final seconds to seal a 97-92 win.

It looked as though everything West put up was going in. He finished with a season-high 31 points on 13-20 from the floor and 11 rebounds. Hill was right behind him with 25 points on 9-14 shooting, including 4-6 from long range. Hill also dished out eight assists and pulled down six boards.

DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings in scoring with 19 points while grabbing 16 rebounds.

Indiana concludes their trip out west in a showdown with the Golden State Warriors tonight. The Pacers squeezed out a victory last season at Golden State on a last-second steal and layup by George Hill.

Game Grades

OFFENSE

3.5 ORNAMENTS

If they don’t eclipse the 100 point mark, or win in blowout fashion, they aren’t going to earn a 4/5, but tonight’s performance was about as good as it gets. They shot just below what we’d like to see as a team, at 43.5%. The Pacers did make 9 three pointers and shot above their average from the charity stripe. They kept the turnovers to single digits, which is something that has been a problem for the Pacers. The Pacer have not been a very good passing team thus far, but they had assists on 27 of 37 made field goals, which is a testament to the inside-out game they were trying to impose on the Kings.

DEFENSE

3 ORNAMENTS

The Kings managed to outdo what most teams have managed to score against the Pacers, which isn’t such a bad thing. The Kings did not shoot terribly well from the field, but then again, nobody has this year against Indiana. I saw an interesting stat last night regarding opponents FG%. The Pacers lead the league, and the gap between #1 and #2 (Oklahoma City) is as wide as the gap between #2 and #20. That’s shocking, you guys. Teams simply cannot shoot against this team, and I attribute that to one Roy Denzil Hibbert’s anaconda arms.

STARTERS

3 ORNAMENTS

George Hill and David West clearly led the way last night. They combined for 56 points and shot over 66% as a duo. That ain’t bad, y’all. Beyond those two, the starters weren’t in a scoring mood, per se. Paul George must’ve dunked his mitts in and ice bucket before the game because he was cold. He finished with 4 points on 2/11 shooting, but made up for it with 8 assists. If you aren’t hitting, set other people up. Lance Stephenson forgot to do the part where he sets other people up because he finished scoreless, and didn’t really stuff the stat sheet anywhere else. That Hibbert guy forgot how to play offense again, but altered enough shots in the paint to make his presence felt.

BENCH

3 ORNAMENTS

Sam Young, everybody. He’s the kind of guy every coach would like to have. Yeah, he may not be the most talented, and doesn’t actually do any one thing spectacularly, but he’s a hustler, homie. He’s feisty and gives 100% every single night. The rest of the bench didn’t contribute a whole lot offensively, but played well enough to win the game. They played conservatively, like their goal was to not screw this up. Last year, the Kings’ bench made a terrific comeback against the Pacers late in the game, and that was not going to happen last night.

OVERALL

3 ORNAMENTS

Can’t ever be upset about a win. The Pacers were never really in danger of blowing this game, but it was never a sure thing. Against a bottom feeder like the Kings, after a day off, you’d like to see a dominant performance. I think this is the type of game where the Pacers really miss Danny Granger. In the first quarter, up by 7 and pulling away, the Pacers need a guy who can hit a dagger that completely demoralizes a team. That’s what Danny brought to this team. Until then, we all better get our hearts checked because there are going to be close calls against teams that shouldn’t be a problem. Ideally, the Pacers will continue to win games like this.