Game ID: 22300583
Indiana Pacers @ Sacramento Kings
Thursday, January 18, 2024 at 10:00 PM ET
Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
SAC 31 26 32 32 121IND 34 36 29 27 126
IND @ SAC ScoutingIND @ SAC Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
SAC availability going into 1/10 · back-to-backBACK Ellis back 1/07 after 3, 8 min since (48% of 17)
BACK Vezenkov back 1/07 after 3, 21 min since (169% of 12)
NEW Duarte 12 to 18 min over the last 4
SAC availability going into 1/12 · 1 day's restOUT Vezenkov missed 2 since 1/09, returns tonight: 8 min (70% of 12)
BACK Ellis back 1/07 after 3, 9 min since (50% of 17)
NEW Monk 26 to 31 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 1/14 · 1 day's restBACK Ellis back 1/07 after 3, 9 min since (52% of 17)
BACK Vezenkov back 1/07 after 3, 15 min since (119% of 12)
SAC availability going into 1/16 · 1 day's restBACK Ellis back 1/07 after 3, 9 min since (52% of 17)
BACK Vezenkov back 1/07 after 3, 12 min since (97% of 12)
NEW Lyles 20 to 27 min over the last 4
SAC availability going into 1/18 · 1 day's restOUT Ellis missed 2 since 1/14, returns tonight: 2 min (11% of 17)
OUT Mitchell missed 2 since 1/14, out tonight
OUT Duarte missed 2 since 1/14, out tonight
BACK Vezenkov back 1/12 after 2, 11 min since (89% of 12)
SAC availability going into 1/22 · 3 days' restOUT Mitchell missed 3 since 1/14, returns tonight: 22 min (144% of 15)
OUT Duarte missed 3 since 1/14, out tonight
BACK Ellis back 1/18 after 2, 2 min since (11% of 17)
BACK Vezenkov back 1/12 after 2, 11 min since (89% of 12)
SAC availability going into 1/25 · 2 days' restOUT Duarte missed 4 since 1/14, returns tonight: 3 min (22% of 12)
BACK Ellis back 1/18 after 2, 2 min since (11% of 17)
BACK Mitchell back 1/22 after 3, 22 min since (144% of 15)
BACK Vezenkov back 1/12 after 2, 10 min since (81% of 12)
NEW Huerter 24 to 32 min over the last 4
SAC availability going into 1/27 · 1 day's restOUT Ellis missed 2 since 1/22, out tonight
BACK Mitchell back 1/22 after 3, 19 min since (122% of 15)
BACK Duarte back 1/25 after 4, 3 min since (22% of 12)
NEW Huerter 24 to 32 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 1/29 · 1 day's restOUT Ellis missed 3 since 1/22, out tonight
OUT Vezenkov missed 2 since 1/25, out tonight
BACK Mitchell back 1/22 after 3, 16 min since (105% of 15)
BACK Duarte back 1/25 after 4, 3 min since (22% of 12)
NEW Huerter 24 to 31 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 1/10 · 1 day's restBACK Bru. Brown back 1/03 after 5, 24 min since (80% of 30)
BACK Nembhard back 1/08 after 3, 12 min since (47% of 26)
NEW Smith 16 to 21 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 1/12 · 1 day's restOUT Sheppard missed 2 since 1/08, returns tonight: 4 min (24% of 16)
BACK Bru. Brown back 1/03 after 5, 25 min since (83% of 30)
BACK Nembhard back 1/08 after 3, 19 min since (73% of 26)
NEW Smith 16 to 24 min over the last 4
IND availability going into 1/14 · 1 day's restOUT Haliburton missed 2 since 1/10, out tonight
BACK Nembhard back 1/08 after 3, 20 min since (77% of 26)
BACK Sheppard back 1/12 after 2, 4 min since (24% of 16)
NEW Smith 16 to 24 min over the last 4
IND availability going into 1/15 · back-to-backOUT Haliburton missed 3 since 1/10, out tonight
BACK Nembhard back 1/08 after 3, 23 min since (85% of 26)
BACK Sheppard back 1/12 after 2, 4 min since (24% of 16)
NEW Smith 16 to 24 min over the last 4
IND availability going into 1/18 · 2 days' restOUT Haliburton missed 4 since 1/10, out tonight
OUT Nesmith missed 2 since 1/14, out tonight
BACK Nembhard back 1/08 after 3, 23 min since (85% of 26)
BACK Sheppard back 1/12 after 2, 15 min since (94% of 16)
NEW Smith 16 to 23 min over the last 4
IND availability going into 1/19 · back-to-backOUT Haliburton missed 5 since 1/10, returns tonight: 35 min (107% of 33)
OUT Nesmith missed 3 since 1/14, returns tonight: 28 min (98% of 29)
BACK Sheppard back 1/12 after 2, 19 min since (123% of 16)
NEW Smith 16 to 22 min over the last 4
IND availability going into 1/21 · 1 day's restOUT Nembhard missed 2 since 1/18, returns tonight: 25 min (96% of 26)
BACK Haliburton back 1/19 after 5, 35 min since (107% of 33)
BACK Nesmith back 1/19 after 3, 28 min since (98% of 29)
BACK Sheppard back 1/12 after 2, 17 min since (110% of 16)
IND availability going into 1/23 · 1 day's restOUT Jackson missed 2 since 1/19, returns tonight: 10 min (75% of 13)
BACK Haliburton back 1/19 after 5, 35 min since (107% of 33)
BACK Nesmith back 1/19 after 3, 27 min since (94% of 29)
BACK Nembhard back 1/21 after 2, 25 min since (96% of 26)
NEW Hield 26 to 31 min over the last 5
NEW Sheppard 16 to 21 min over the last 4
IND availability going into 1/25 · 1 day's restOUT Haliburton missed 2 since 1/21, out tonight
BACK Nesmith back 1/19 after 3, 29 min since (102% of 29)
BACK Nembhard back 1/21 after 2, 26 min since (99% of 26)
BACK Jackson back 1/23 after 2, 10 min since (75% of 13)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 116, shooting 49 percent and 37 from three, 19 free throws a game; Fox at 26 and Sabonis at 23 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Ellis (2 straight), Mitchell (2 straight). One day's rest. Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 118, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 21 free throws a game; Mathurin at 16 and Turner at 14 a game. Without Haliburton (4 straight), Nesmith (2 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Sacramento wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Sacramento 122, Indiana 117.
1/10 @ CHA 123-98 — SAC notes
SAC won 123-98. SAC shot 52% (46 of 89) to CHA's 40%, 13 of 35 from three, and went to the line 23 times to CHA's 16 — 18 points from the stripe to their 12. The glass went 53-36 for them. Murray led with 25 (11 of 18, 3 of 7 from three); Sabonis added 24, Monk 20. The hinge was Q4, 28-18: a lead of 15 became 25. Len was the night's best plus/minus at +28.
1/12 @ PHI 93-112 — SAC notes
SAC lost 93-112. SAC shot 34% (32 of 95) to PHI's 43%, 8 of 38 from three, and went to the line 26 times to PHI's 18 — 21 points from the stripe to their 17. Fox led with 21 (5 of 15, 2 of 7 from three, 9 of 11 at the line); Murray added 15, Monk 15. Q3 was theirs, 27-22, the deficit cut from 19 to 14, but the other 3 periods went 90-66 against them. Fox's -25 in 38 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/14 @ MIL 142-143 — SAC notes
SAC lost 142-143 in 1 overtime. SAC took 13 more shots (105 to 92), but shot 52% to MIL's 52%, 17 of 41 from three, and got to the line 20 times to MIL's 32. Fox led with 32 (12 of 26, 2 of 6 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); Monk added 28, Huerter 26. Q1 was theirs, 37-32, but the other 4 periods went 111-105 against them.
1/16 @ PHX 117-119 — SAC notes
SAC lost 117-119. SAC shot 50% (46 of 92) to PHX's 49%, 18 of 40 from three, and got to the line just 12 times against 20 fouls committed. The glass went 31-46 against them. Fox led with 33 (12 of 24, 6 of 10 from three); Sabonis added 21, Murray 18. Q1 was theirs, 39-27, but the other 3 periods went 92-78 against them. They led by as many as 22.
1/18 vs IND 121-126 — SAC notes
SAC lost 121-126. SAC shot 52% (44 of 85) to IND's 55%, 15 of 37 from three, and went to the line 32 times to IND's 19 — 18 points from the stripe to their 15. Huerter led with 31 (11 of 17, 7 of 12 from three); Murray added 27, Fox 24. Q4 was theirs, 32-27, the deficit cut from 10 to 5, but the other 3 periods went 99-89 against them.
1/22 vs ATL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 120, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 23 free throws a game; Fox at 26 and Sabonis at 20 a game. That is 4 straight losses. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Mitchell (3 straight). 3 days' rest. Atlanta comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 104 a night and allowing 111, shooting 43 percent and 33 from three, 22 free throws a game; Young at 22 and Murray at 20 a game. Without Hunter (15 straight), Krejčí (14 straight). One day's rest.
So: Sacramento wins, and the game turns on the defense, Atlanta allowing 111 a night to Sacramento's 120 and the turnovers, Atlanta giving it away 15 times a game to Sacramento's 12. Call it Sacramento 119, Atlanta 114.
1/25 @ GSW — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Golden State comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 126, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 19 free throws a game; Curry at 23 and Kuminga at 22 a game. Without Paul (6 straight), Moody (4 straight), Payton II (8 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Sacramento comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 121, shooting 47 percent and 36 from three, 23 free throws a game; Fox at 24 and Huerter at 19 a game. 2 days' rest.
So: Golden State wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Golden State 121, Sacramento 120, Sacramento keeping it close.
1/27 @ DAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Dallas comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 128, shooting 48 percent and 39 from three, 23 free throws a game; Dončić at 43 and Irving at 26 a game. Without Irving (2 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Sacramento comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 127 a night and allowing 126, shooting 51 percent and 41 from three, 22 free throws a game; Fox at 26 and Barnes at 19 a game. Without Ellis (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Sacramento wins, on the road, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Sacramento 123, Dallas 121, Dallas keeping it close.
1/29 @ MEM — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Memphis comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 109, shooting 45 percent and 38 from three, 20 free throws a game; Jackson Jr. at 25 and Williams Jr. at 18 a game. Without Bane (8 straight), LaRavia (7 straight), Rose (13 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Sacramento comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 120, shooting 51 percent and 40 from three, 24 free throws a game; Fox at 26 and Barnes at 20 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Ellis (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: Sacramento wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Memphis allowing 109 a night to Sacramento's 120 and the turnovers, Memphis giving it away 15 times a game to Sacramento's 11. Call it Sacramento 115, Memphis 113, Memphis keeping it close.
1/10 vs WAS 112-104 — IND notes
IND won 112-104. IND shot 45% (41 of 92) to WAS's 43%, 8 of 25 from three, and got to the line 24 times to WAS's 30. Turner led with 18 (7 of 15, 1 of 5 from three); Mathurin added 16, Brown 16. The hinge was Q3, 35-25: IND came in trailing by 1 and left it ahead by 9, and the lead reached 17. IND trailed 54-55 at the half and won the second half 58-49. Hield was the night's best plus/minus at +12.
1/12 @ ATL 126-108 — IND notes
IND won 126-108. IND shot 67% (53 of 79) to ATL's 45%, 11 of 18 from three, and got to the line 12 times to ATL's 23. IND turned it over 25 times to ATL's 14, and ATL turned those into 14 steals. The glass went 45-28 for them. Hield led with 18 (7 of 11, 4 of 6 from three); Toppin added 18, Mathurin 15. The hinge was Q3, 31-19: a lead of 6 became 18, and the lead reached 27. Mathurin was the night's best plus/minus at +16.
1/14 @ DEN 109-117 — IND notes
IND lost 109-117. IND took 21 more shots (92 to 71), fed by 14 offensive rebounds, but shot 47% to DEN's 65%, 8 of 29 from three. IND turned it over 13 times to DEN's 21. Brown led with 18 (8 of 16); Hield added 16, Nembhard 12. Q1 was theirs, 28-28, but the other 3 periods went 89-81 against them. Nembhard's -16 in 29 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/15 @ UTA 105-132 — IND notes
IND lost 105-132. IND took 14 more shots (95 to 81), fed by 18 offensive rebounds, but shot 40% to UTA's 56%, 9 of 31 from three, and got to the line 25 times to UTA's 35. Nembhard led with 14 (5 of 10, 1 of 3 from three); Hield added 14, Smith 12. Q4 was theirs, 26-27, but the other 3 periods went 105-79 against them. Smith's -28 in 19 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/18 @ SAC 126-121 — IND notes
IND won 126-121. IND shot 55% (49 of 89) to SAC's 52%, 13 of 33 from three, and got to the line 19 times to SAC's 32. Mathurin led with 25 (11 of 21, 2 of 6 from three); McConnell added 20, Turner 18. The hinge was Q2, 36-26: a lead of 3 became 13, and the lead reached 16. Toppin was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
1/19 @ POR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Portland comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 95 a night and allowing 119, shooting 39 percent and 32 from three, 21 free throws a game; Grant at 18 and Simons at 16 a game. It has lost the glass by 7 a night. Without Sharpe (3 straight), Ayton (12 straight). One day's rest. Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 116, shooting 50 percent and 36 from three, 20 free throws a game; Mathurin at 16 and Bru. Brown at 15 a game. Without Haliburton (5 straight), Nesmith (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Indiana wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Indiana has been plus-3 a night and Portland minus-7 and the arc, Indiana at 36 percent from three to Portland's 32. Call it Indiana 117, Portland 113, Portland keeping it close.
1/21 @ PHX — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Phoenix comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 118, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 24 free throws a game; Booker at 31 and Durant at 24 a game. That is 4 straight wins. One day's rest. Indiana comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 119, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Turner at 17 and Hield at 16 a game. Without Nembhard (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Phoenix 121, Indiana 117, Indiana keeping it close.
1/23 vs DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 121, shooting 46 percent and 37 from three, 23 free throws a game; Turner at 17 and Hield at 16 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest. Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 110, shooting 54 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Jokić at 31 and Murray at 23 a game. It has won the glass by 10 a night. One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-10 a night and Indiana minus-5 and the defense, Denver allowing 110 a night to Indiana's 121. Call it Denver 118, Indiana 116, Indiana keeping it close.
1/25 vs PHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 120, shooting 46 percent and 37 from three, 23 free throws a game; Turner at 19 and Siakam at 17 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Haliburton (2 straight). One day's rest. Philadelphia comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 111, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 32 free throws a game; Embiid at 44 and Maxey at 24 a game. That is 5 straight wins. Without Melton (5 straight), Beverley (2 straight), Covington (10 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Philadelphia wins, on the road, and the game turns on the line, where Philadelphia takes 32 free throws a game to Indiana's 23 and the defense, Philadelphia allowing 111 a night to Indiana's 120. Call it Philadelphia 120, Indiana 116, Indiana keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
INDBH B. Hield
BM B. Mathurin
BS B. Sheppard
IJ I. Jackson
JS J. Smith
JW J. Walker
MT M. Turner
OT O. Toppin
TM T. McConnell
SACAL A. Len
AV A. Vezenkov
DF D. Fox
DS D. Sabonis
HB H. Barnes
KH K. Huerter
KM K. Murray
MM M. Monk
TL T. Lyles
IND/SAC the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- — Bennedict Mathurin scored 25 points and the short-handed Indiana Pacers held off the Sacramento Kings 126-121 on Thursday night.
Indiana was without newly acquired forward Pascal Siakam , who had yet to join the team following a trade from Toronto, while fellow All-Star Tyrese Haliburton missed his fifth straight game because of a strained left hamstring.
Aaron Nesmith (shin) and Andrew Nembhard (back) also were out for the Pacers, and Isaiah Jackson left in the first quarter after taking a hit to the head.
“Big-time,” Mathurin said. “We were short a lot of guys on the team tonight. I feel like the guys who didn’t play as much the past couple of games pretty much stepped up.”
T.J. McConnell had 20 points and 10 assists to help Indiana win for the 10th time in 13 games. Myles Turner added 18 points and Jalen Smith had 17 points and 13 rebounds.
“McConnell set the tone,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “He was in the paint the entire first half and continued attacking it in the second. I thought Mathurin was terrific in the second half as well.”
Kevin Huerter had a career-high 31 points for Sacramento, making 7 of 12 3-pointers. Keegan Murray added 27 points and nine rebounds, but the Kings lost their fourth game in a row.
Domontas Sabonis had 21 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his third straight triple-double and his 12th of the season. De'Aaron Fox added 24 points.
“A loss like this, it should sting,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “I know that we can be a better defensive team than what we are. So it has to start there because at the end of the day, we’re going to figure out a way to score. We’ve just got to figure out a way to slow some of these teams down.”
The Pacers closed the first half on a 12-2 run to build a 70-57 lead.
Huerter answered with seven straight points to start the second half, cutting Indiana’s lead to 70-64.
The Pacers led 122-106 with 2:20 remaining, but the Kings staged a furious 15-2 run to climb within three with 32 seconds left.
Fox missed a potential tying 3 with seven seconds remaining. Following an offensive rebound, Malik Monk was fouled and missed both free throws.
“Obviously, you know they’re going to make a run,” Carlisle said. “But through all that, we made some mistakes, but everyone kept their poise, kept encouraging each other and we got out of here alive.”
Sacramento struggled at the free-throw line, going 18 for 32. Indiana made 15 of 19.