Game ID: 22401090
Sacramento Kings @ Indiana Pacers
Monday, March 31, 2025 at 7:00 PM ET
Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
IND 27 27 27 30 111SAC 28 32 26 23 109
IND vs SAC ScoutingIND vs 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.
IND availability going into 3/24 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 64 since 11/04, out tonight
BACK Haliburton back 3/22 after 3, 32 min since (95% of 34)
BACK Walker back 3/17 after 3, 14 min since (96% of 15)
NEW Nesmith 26 to 32 min over the last 4
NEW Toppin 20 to 25 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 3/26 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 65 since 11/04, out tonight
BACK Haliburton back 3/22 after 3, 31 min since (91% of 34)
BACK Walker back 3/17 after 3, 12 min since (79% of 15)
NEW Toppin 20 to 25 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 3/27 · back-to-backOUT Isa. Jackson missed 66 since 11/04, out tonight
BACK Haliburton back 3/22 after 3, 31 min since (92% of 34)
IND availability going into 3/29 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 67 since 11/04, out tonight
BACK Haliburton back 3/22 after 3, 29 min since (88% of 34)
IND availability going into 3/31 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 68 since 11/04, out tonight
BACK Haliburton back 3/22 after 3, 29 min since (87% of 34)
IND availability going into 4/02 · 1 day's restOUT Mathurin missed 2 since 3/29, out tonight
OUT Isa. Jackson missed 69 since 11/04, out tonight
IND availability going into 4/04 · 1 day's restOUT Mathurin missed 3 since 3/29, returns tonight: 23 min (85% of 27)
OUT Isa. Jackson missed 70 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Que. Jackson missed 2 since 3/31, out tonight
NEW Walker 15 to 21 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 4/06 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 71 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Que. Jackson missed 3 since 3/31, out tonight
BACK Mathurin back 4/04 after 3, 23 min since (85% of 27)
NEW Walker 15 to 22 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 4/08 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 72 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Que. Jackson missed 4 since 3/31, out tonight
BACK Mathurin back 4/04 after 3, 22 min since (81% of 27)
NEW Walker 15 to 21 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 3/24 · 1 day's restOUT Sabonis missed 3 since 3/19, returns tonight: 32 min (93% of 35)
OUT Crowder missed 30 since 1/16, out tonight
NEW Monk 32 to 38 min over the last 4
SAC availability going into 3/25 · back-to-backOUT Monk missed 2 since 3/22, out tonight
OUT Crowder missed 31 since 1/16, out tonight
BACK Sabonis back 3/24 after 3, 32 min since (93% of 35)
NEW Carter 11 to 18 min over the last 4
SAC availability going into 3/27 · 1 day's restOUT Monk missed 3 since 3/22, returns tonight: 17 min (55% of 32)
OUT Crowder missed 32 since 1/16, out tonight
BACK Sabonis back 3/24 after 3, 35 min since (102% of 35)
NEW Ellis 24 to 32 min over the last 5
NEW Carter 11 to 16 min over the last 4
SAC availability going into 3/29 · 1 day's restOUT Crowder missed 33 since 1/16, returns tonight: 7 min (58% of 11)
BACK Sabonis back 3/24 after 3, 35 min since (101% of 35)
BACK Monk back 3/27 after 3, 17 min since (55% of 32)
NEW Ellis 24 to 32 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 3/31 · 1 day's restBACK Sabonis back 3/24 after 3, 34 min since (97% of 35)
BACK Monk back 3/27 after 3, 20 min since (63% of 32)
BACK Crowder back 3/29 after 33, 7 min since (58% of 11)
NEW Ellis 24 to 32 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 4/02 · 1 day's restBACK Sabonis back 3/24 after 3, 35 min since (101% of 35)
BACK Monk back 3/27 after 3, 23 min since (72% of 32)
BACK Crowder back 3/29 after 33, 7 min since (58% of 11)
NEW Ellis 24 to 30 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 4/04 · 1 day's restOUT Crowder missed 2 since 3/31, returns tonight: 5 min (40% of 11)
OUT Carter missed 2 since 3/31, returns tonight: 14 min (126% of 11)
BACK Monk back 3/27 after 3, 26 min since (82% of 32)
SAC availability going into 4/06 · 1 day's restBACK Monk back 3/27 after 3, 25 min since (80% of 32)
BACK Crowder back 3/29 after 33, 6 min since (49% of 11)
BACK Carter back 4/04 after 2, 14 min since (126% of 11)
SAC availability going into 4/07 · back-to-backBACK Crowder back 3/29 after 33, 6 min since (49% of 11)
BACK Carter back 4/04 after 2, 10 min since (94% of 11)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 113, shooting 51 percent and 41 from three, 20 free throws a game; Haliburton at 21 and Siakam at 16 a game. Without Isa. Jackson (68 straight). One day's rest. Sacramento comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 115, shooting 47 percent and 35 from three, 18 free throws a game; DeRozan at 19 and LaVine at 18 a game. One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the arc, Indiana at 41 percent from three to Sacramento's 35. Call it Indiana 119, Sacramento 111.
3/24 vs MIN 119-103 — IND notes
IND won 119-103. IND shot 49% (46 of 94) to MIN's 48%, 13 of 35 from three. IND turned it over 11 times to MIN's 17. Haliburton led with 24 (9 of 16, 3 of 7 from three); Toppin added 20, Nesmith 17. The hinge was Q3, 41-25: a lead of 6 became 22. Siakam was the night's best plus/minus at +26.
3/26 vs LAL 119-120 — IND notes
IND lost 119-120. IND took 8 more shots (87 to 79), but shot 51% to LAL's 52%, 15 of 36 from three. IND turned it over 9 times to LAL's 14. Mathurin led with 23 (7 of 16, 2 of 5 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); Nembhard added 16, Turner 16. Q3 was theirs, 37-27, the deficit cut from 13 to 3, but the other 3 periods went 93-82 against them.
3/27 @ WAS 162-109 — IND notes
IND won 162-109. IND shot 64% (59 of 92) to WAS's 45%, 27 of 47 from three, and got to the line 19 times to WAS's 26. The glass went 50-31 for them. Haliburton led with 29 (9 of 15, 7 of 10 from three); Turner added 17, Walker 16. The hinge was Q4, 37-21: a lead of 37 became 53, and the lead reached 59. Walker was the night's best plus/minus at +31.
3/29 @ OKC 111-132 — IND notes
IND lost 111-132. IND shot 45% (39 of 87) to OKC's 51%, 14 of 42 from three. Haliburton led with 18 (6 of 12, 4 of 9 from three); Nembhard added 16, Toppin 12. Q4 was theirs, 31-30, the deficit cut from 22 to 21, but the other 3 periods went 102-80 against them. They led by as many as 10. Siakam's -22 in 27 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/31 vs SAC 111-109 — IND notes
IND won 111-109. IND shot 47% (42 of 90) to SAC's 47%, 14 of 41 from three. Nesmith led with 24 (7 of 16, 1 of 8 from three, 9 of 9 at the line); Toppin added 19, Haliburton 18. The hinge was Q4, 30-23: IND came in trailing by 5 and left it ahead by 2. IND trailed 54-60 at the half and won the second half 57-49. Nesmith was the night's best plus/minus at +13.
4/02 vs CHA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 115, shooting 51 percent and 41 from three, 18 free throws a game; Haliburton at 21 and Toppin at 15 a game. Without Mathurin (2 straight), Isa. Jackson (69 straight). One day's rest. Charlotte comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 102 a night and allowing 109, shooting 43 percent and 34 from three, 18 free throws a game; Bridges at 17 and Mar. Williams at 14 a game. Without Gra. Williams (59 straight), Baugh (7 straight). One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the arc, Indiana at 41 percent from three to Charlotte's 34 and the turnovers, Charlotte giving it away 16 times a game to Indiana's 11. Call it Indiana 117, Charlotte 108.
4/04 vs UTA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 115, shooting 51 percent and 42 from three, 17 free throws a game; Haliburton at 21 and Turner at 15 a game. Without Mathurin (3 straight), Isa. Jackson (70 straight). One day's rest. Utah comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 103 a night and allowing 129, shooting 43 percent and 30 from three, 20 free throws a game; Sexton at 18 and Collier at 16 a game. That is 5 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 15 a night. Without Collins (11 straight), Clarkson (5 straight), Potter (6 straight). One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Indiana has been minus-1 a night and Utah minus-15 and the arc, Indiana at 42 percent from three to Utah's 30. Call it Indiana 124, Utah 110, Indiana by 14.
4/06 @ DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 116, shooting 52 percent and 37 from three, 26 free throws a game; Jokić at 40 and Porter Jr. at 22 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Murray (4 straight). One day's rest. Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 129 a night and allowing 113, shooting 53 percent and 41 from three, 21 free throws a game; Haliburton at 21 and Turner at 17 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Isa. Jackson (71 straight). One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Denver giving it away 16 times a game to Indiana's 10 and the arc, Indiana at 41 percent from three to Denver's 37. Call it Denver 119, Indiana 118, Indiana keeping it close.
4/08 vs WAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 116, shooting 49 percent and 36 from three, 22 free throws a game; Turner at 19 and Haliburton at 17 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Isa. Jackson (72 straight). One day's rest. Washington comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 102 a night and allowing 116, shooting 44 percent and 32 from three, 18 free throws a game; Poole at 21 and Carrington at 17 a game. It has lost the glass by 16 a night. Without Coulibaly (15 straight), George (7 straight), Brogdon (24 straight). One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Indiana has been minus-4 a night and Washington minus-16 and the turnovers, Washington giving it away 12 times a game to Indiana's 8. Call it Indiana 120, Washington 109, Indiana by 11.
3/24 vs BOS 95-113 — SAC notes
SAC lost 95-113. SAC shot 45% (39 of 86) to BOS's 46%, 8 of 24 from three, and got to the line just 11 times against 18 fouls committed. DeRozan led with 20 (9 of 24, 0 of 4 from three); Sabonis added 16, LaVine 14. Q1 was theirs, 29-30, but the other 3 periods went 83-66 against them. LaVine's -22 in 37 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/25 vs OKC 105-121 — SAC notes
SAC lost 105-121. SAC took 9 more shots (91 to 82), but shot 41% to OKC's 52%, 23 of 47 from three, and got to the line 12 times to OKC's 20. The glass went 36-52 against them. Murray led with 28 (9 of 15, 9 of 13 from three); LaVine added 19, Ellis 12. Q3 was theirs, 39-25, the deficit cut from 22 to 8, but the other 3 periods went 96-66 against them. LaVine's -31 in 37 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/27 vs POR 128-107 — SAC notes
SAC won 128-107. SAC shot 65% (48 of 74) to POR's 40%, 10 of 27 from three. SAC turned it over 20 times to POR's 10, and POR turned those into 11 steals. The glass went 46-32 for them. LaVine led with 29 (13 of 18, 2 of 5 from three); Sabonis added 22, DeRozan 21. The hinge was Q1, 36-27: from level to 9 ahead, and the lead reached 23. LaVine was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
3/29 @ ORL 91-121 — SAC notes
SAC lost 91-121. SAC shot 42% (34 of 81) to ORL's 49%, 7 of 28 from three. DeRozan led with 21 (7 of 11, 2 of 3 from three); Sabonis added 14, LaVine 10. Q2 was theirs, 25-23, the deficit cut from 17 to 15, but the other 3 periods went 98-66 against them. Murray's -35 in 30 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/31 @ IND 109-111 — SAC notes
SAC lost 109-111. SAC shot 47% (43 of 92) to IND's 47%, 12 of 27 from three. DeRozan led with 31 (12 of 24, 2 of 6 from three, 5 of 7 at the line); Sabonis added 25, LaVine 20. Q2 was theirs, 32-27, but the other 3 periods went 84-77 against them. They led by as many as 16. LaVine's -13 in 38 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/02 @ WAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Washington comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 125, shooting 44 percent and 33 from three, 25 free throws a game; Poole at 21 and Sarr at 16 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 12 a night. Without Coulibaly (12 straight), George (4 straight), Brogdon (21 straight). One day's rest. Sacramento comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 115, shooting 47 percent and 39 from three, 17 free throws a game; DeRozan at 21 and LaVine at 18 a game. One day's rest.
So: Sacramento wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Sacramento has been minus-1 a night and Washington minus-12 and the defense, Sacramento allowing 115 a night to Washington's 125. Call it Sacramento 115, Washington 113, Washington keeping it close.
4/04 @ CHA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Charlotte comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 102 a night and allowing 108, shooting 44 percent and 35 from three, 19 free throws a game; Bridges at 17 and Mar. Williams at 15 a game. Without Gra. Williams (60 straight), Moore Jr. (2 straight). One day's rest. Sacramento comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 115, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 21 free throws a game; DeRozan at 22 and LaVine at 19 a game. That is 3 straight losses. One day's rest.
So: Charlotte wins, and the game turns on the defense, Charlotte allowing 108 a night to Sacramento's 115. Call it Charlotte 111, Sacramento 110, Sacramento keeping it close.
4/06 @ CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 118, shooting 49 percent and 37 from three, 21 free throws a game; Mitchell at 28 and Allen at 17 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Wade (2 straight), Jerome (5 straight). One day's rest. Sacramento comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 111, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 23 free throws a game; DeRozan at 25 and Sabonis at 21 a game. One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the defense, Sacramento allowing 111 a night to Cleveland's 118. Call it Cleveland 119, Sacramento 114.
4/07 @ DET — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Detroit comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 116, shooting 42 percent and 33 from three, 28 free throws a game; Hardaway Jr. at 21 and Beasley at 18 a game. It has lost the glass by 8 a night. Without Harris (2 straight), Smith (16 straight), Harper Jr. (28 straight). One day's rest. Sacramento comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 113, shooting 47 percent and 36 from three, 22 free throws a game; DeRozan at 26 and LaVine at 22 a game. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Detroit wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Sacramento has been plus-1 a night and Detroit minus-8 and the line, where Detroit takes 28 free throws a game to Sacramento's 22. Call it Detroit 116, Sacramento 112, Sacramento keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
INDAN A. Nembhard
AN A. Nesmith
BS B. Sheppard
JW J. Walker
OT O. Toppin
PS P. Siakam
TB T. Bradley
TB T. Bryant
TH T. Haliburton
TM T. McConnell
SACDD D. DeRozan
DS D. Sabonis
JV J. Valančiūnas
KE K. Ellis
KM K. Murray
MF M. Fultz
MM M. Monk
TL T. Lyles
ZL Z. LaVine
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
Pacers come from 16 points down in the second half to beat the Kings 111-109
INDIANAPOLIS -- — Aaron Nesmith scored 17 of his 24 points in the second half, Obi Toppin added 19 and the Indiana Pacers rallied from a 16-point deficit in the second half to beat the Sacramento Kings 111-109 on Monday night.
Tyrese Haliburton had 18 points and 11 assists against his former team for the Pacers. Jarace Walker scored 15 points.
DeMar DeRozan led the Kings with 31 points and eight assists. Former Pacers center Domantas Sabonis had 25 points and 16 rebounds.
Zach LaVine finished with 20 points for Sacramento, which led 76-60 midway through the third quarter.
Takeaways Kings
Sacramento will remain in 10th place in the Western Conference, the final spot in the play-in tournament, but was in good shape for a victory that would have helped in the quest to move up to No. 9, which would mean a home game.
Pacers
Indiana bounced back from a loss at Oklahoma City to win for the seventh time in nine games and now gets a little break in the schedule, with home games against lottery teams against Charlotte and Utah up next.
Key moment Haliburton made the go-ahead 3-pointer for a 100-98 lead with 1:17 to play, then Pascal Siakam hit one to make it a five-point advantage with 36 seconds remaining.
Key stat Haliburton was 4 for 5 in the final period for 11 points.
Up next The Pacers host Charlotte on Wednesday. Sacramento is at Washington on Wednesday.