by Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento Kings Head Coach Michael Malone had made no secret about the fact he was sick of his team’s four game losing streak. Yes, DeMarcus Cousins was unavailable for all four of those games, and Cousins was not available for the game against Indiana. None of that mattered to Malone. He said his team must learn how to win without Cousins in the lineup. To do that, the Kings would need to play improved defense and someone on the team would need to be the leader on offense.

At times on Friday night, the Kings did play strong defensively. Rudy Gay scored 27 points. Darren Collison added 20 points of his own, but the Kings still had to go to overtime in order to post a 102-101 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

After outscoring the Pacers 34-20 in the first quarter, Indiana outscored the Kings in the second, third and fourth quarters. Sacramento outscored the Pacers 6-5 in overtime.

The Kings won the game in overtime when Rudy Gay missed a jump shot with 2.9 seconds left in the period. Carl Landry was able to rebound the ball and put it in the basket with just 0.8 seconds remaining on the clock. It was the first time Landry had hit the game winner in his career.

Malone was pleased with the way his team played defense in the overtime session. The Kings held the Pacers to just two of seven from the field and gave up just five points. Sacramento outrebounded Indiana six to two in overtime.

The Kings came out in the first quarter passing the ball to cutters under the basket and looking for high percentage shots. Sacramento shot 65-percent (13 for 20) from the field and scored 34 first quarter points. They only turned the ball twice (3 points) and held the Pacers to just 20 points. The Kings defense caused Indiana to turn the ball over six times (12 points). Sacramento led by as many as 15 points in the period. Rudy Gay”s 11 points led the Kings scoring.

The second quarter was a completely different for Sacramento. Gone were the high percentage shots in the paint replaced with less than accurate outside shooting. The Kings field goal percentage dropped to 38.1 (8 for 21) while the Pacers shooting warmed up led by Damjan Rudez who was four for four from the field including two 3-Pointers. Indiana outscored the Kings 25-22 in the quarter. At the half, Sacramento led the Pacers 56-45.

The Kings took the floor after the intermission with a renewed attitude. Sacramento was back to playing uptempo basketball led by the play of Gay, McLemore and Collison. At one point, the Kings opened up a 15 point lead on the Pacers. The Indiana bench led by guard C.J. Watson began chipping away at the Sacramento lead and outscored the Kings 27-24 in the third quarter. At the end of three periods, Sacramento was clinging to a 80-72 lead.

The Kings were able to open up a 13 point lead early in the fourth quarter but once again the Pacers refused to go away. Indiana cut the Sacramento lead to just two points with 1:33 to play on a Rodney Stuckey rebound that he then drove to the bucket for an easy lay-up. The Pacers tied the game at :28 seconds to go on a David West jump shot. The Kings had possession of the ball and played for what they hoped would be the final shot of the game. Rudy Gay put up a jump shot from the right side with 4.9 seconds to go and missed the shot. Gay was incensed that a foul was not called. A television replay showed Gay was fouled but it was not called by the officials. Regulation time ended with the game tied at 96 all.

The Kings took the lead in overtime on a Darren Collison jump shot off an Indiana turnover. Sacramento opened up a four point lead but the Pacers closed the gap to 100-99 on a 3-Point basket by C.J. Watson. Indiana then took the their first lead the game since the first quarter on a Watson bank shot 101-100. Again the Kings would have a chance to run down the clock and take the possible last shot. Rudy Gay missed a jumper with 2.9 seconds to play. Carl Landry grabbed the rebound and put the ball up into the basket to give the Kings a 102-101 lead with 0.8 seconds remaining. Indiana was unable to convert on a final shot attempt and the Kings won the game 102-101.

Sacramento shot 43.4-percent (36 for 83) from the field. The Kings converted just two of 10 3-Point attempts. They shot just 70.0-percent (28 for 40) from the free throw line. Sacramento turned the ball over 15 times. Those 15 turnovers resulted in 22 Indiana points.

The Pacers were led in scoring by their bench. The Pacers second unit scored 49 points in the game. The Kings bench produced 26 points.

Final Takes: DeMarcus Cousins was at the game and sat with the team in street clothes. Cousins will still be unavailable on Saturday night versus the Magic … the Kings wore the red, white and blue uniforms of the Rochester Royals to celebrate their historical ties to the 1951 NBA Champions.