Pacers run past Kings in India, 130-106

The Pacers wrapped up play in Mumbai with an impressive showing on Saturday, using a monster second quarter to run away from the Kings for a 130-106 win in Mumbai.

The win gave the Pacers a sweep of the two-game preseason series which not only impressed, but entertained the folks in India, not to mention those watching the action back home.

The key to the win was a startling 46-point second quarter fueled by several bench players working to earn their way into the regular season rotation. Edmond Sumner was electric, scoring 10 points and dishing out 4 assists in the 2Q run. Alize Johnson and Justin Holiday both made a pair of threes, as the Pacers made 7 of 12 shots from behind the arc during that deciding run.

Even more impressive was the fact that that reserve group played their best against a Kings lineup which consisted of their starting players. Sumner capped off the quarter with a signature highlight, taking the ball from the opposite free throw line to score a layup in less than 3.5 seconds.

Johnson led the Pacers in scoring for the game with 17 points, with Aaron Holiday adding 16. After a slow shooting start, the Pacers finished the game making 15 of 29 shots from behind the arc.

Yes, 29 3-point attempts.

As for the starters, Nate McMillan did not rest Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner as expected and instead played all of the starters 19 minutes. Turner was quite active defending the rim with 5 blocks, to go along with his 12 points.

At this point, trying to improve the team defense seems like a good problem to have for the Pacers, since they have shown a much improved ability to score. Suddenly, McMillan is faced with some challenging decisions to try to trim down the playing rotation. But too many guys showing up to play well is a good problem to have.

The long flight home should be much more pleasant after the team came together to sweep the Kings. The Pacers will get back to work on Monday and then play again next Friday when they host the Chicago Bulls.

Enjoy a few highlights!