On Monday night, the Indiana Pacers beat the Sacramento Kings 111-109. The Pacers trailed by as many as 16 points in the second half, and nine points in the fourth quarter. However, Indiana would have won by a comfortable five points if it weren’t for a last-second, meaningless Zach LaVine 3-pointer.
The Pacers were able to tap into some of their best basketball of the season in the fourth quarter, surpassed only by their 162-point beatdown of the Washington Wizards, where the team fired on all cylinders for 47 minutes before stopping any effort in the final 60 seconds.
DeMar DeRozan scored 31, LaVine offered 20, and Domantas Sabonis recorded 25 points and 16 rebounds. However, five Pacers scored double-digit points, including Jarace Walker’s 15 points off the bench.
In the deciding fourth quarter, the Pacers as a whole didn’t shoot well, only 28.6 percent from deep, but Tyrese Haliburton woke up, recording a team-high 11 points. He scored more than half of his total in the pivotal final frame.
With the win, the Pacers build a two-game win over the Detroit Pistons for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, all but clinching home-court advantage in a first-round series.
Meanwhile, the Kings drop to only one game ahead of the Phoenix Suns for the final spot in the Western Conference Play-In. If Sacramento manages to miss any sort of postseason–be it the Play-In or playoffs–blowing up their roster is likely a given, and if the Pacers lose Myles Turner in free agency, they should set their sights on somehow bringing Sabonis back into the fold.
