The Sacramento Kings forward Domanatas Sabonis (10) looks to pass the ball against the Indiana Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith (23) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Fri Feb 2, 2024 (AP News photo)
By Barbara Mason
The Sacramento Kings (28-19) De’Aaron Fox had six steals and 25 points en route to a win over the Indiana Pacers (27-23). Four Kings had 20 plus points in the 133-122 win. Malik Monk who has struggled for quite a few games came alive in this one finishing with 23 points.
Game recap: The Kings got a quick start in a very close first quarter. The two teams have very similar records and this game had all the makings of a major battle. The Pacers edged the Kings after the first 12 minutes of play 39-38.
Sacramento really got going in the second quarter. Monk who has really struggled the past 4 or five games got back on track in a big way. At the half the Kings had a 71-64 lead winning the second quarter 33-25.
Four Kings had double digits after the first two quarters. Fox, Domantas Sabonis, Harrison Barnes and Monk all had a great first half of basketball. Monk who has been noticeably struggling for awhile had 13 points in the first half.
The Pacers had 11 turnovers in the first half which the Kings took advantage of. Kevin Huerter was having a rough start missing quite a few open looks. Keegan Murray also had a slow start with only 5 points.
It was not a great start in the third quarter for the Kings committing 3 turnovers within several minutes. The Pacers were having turnover issues themselves already with 15. Sacramento had extended their lead to 85-73 with under five minutes left in the quarter. With under three minutes left in the quarter, Sacramento took their largest lead of the game 94-78.
The Kings had led at one time in the third quarter by 18 points but a quick 5-0 Pacer run made this a 13 point game. Indiana had gotten into a rhythm and the Kings would be looking to disrupt that rhythm going into the fourth quarter.
Sacramento went into the final countdown as the fourth quarter got underway. Trey Lyles got into the double digit club in the early minutes of the quarter with 13 points and the Kings continued to hold a sizable lead.
The Pacers would threaten throughout the fourth quarter but Sacramento continued to hang on. Huerter got into double digits with 11 and the Kings had six players shooting for double digits with Barnes leading the charge with 22 points.
With under three minutes left in the game, the Kings needed to finish strong. Sacramento continued to match the Pacers offensively and defensively in a true battle. Indiana continued with a full court press in the final minutes of the game testing the Kings. it was a great finish for Sacramento winning the game 133-122.
Night in and night out Sabonis performs, consistently show-casing the excellent play he comes into every game with. Tonight he had a double double with 26 points and 12 rebounds. Fox finished with 25 points, Monk had 23 points and Barnes finished with 22 points.
Post game notes: It has been a frustrating week for the Kings . They are currently on a lengthy road trip beating the Warriors, Mavericks and the Grizzlies. They have dropped one game on this current road trip losing to the Miami Heat.
It has been a successful trip so far but it has been met with a major disappointment. When the lineup for the upcoming All-Star game was announced, Fox and Sabonis were both snubbed.
This was an enormous snub with the Kings being the only top-six team in either conference without an All-Star. They could still be chosen as injury replacement if an injury occurred in the West. Despite this bitter pill, the Kings were back on the court and back in the win column in Indiana and defeated the Pacers Friday night.
Saturday night the Kings take a trip over to the windy city to take on the Chicago Bulls. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 5:00 PM.










