Pacers on to Sacramento after third straight win to start road trip
A playoff-type win over the Suns delivered third consecutive win. No time for a letdown with another roadie against the Kings on Sunday evening.
The Pacers started their three-game road trip out west in fine fashion on Thursday, with 120-111 win over the Suns. The bounce-back from the rock bottom loss to the Hornets is now in full effect following this impressive win, the third consecutive W as the Pacers head to NoCal for back-to-back games against the Kings and Warriors starting Sunday evening in Sacramento.
The Pacers actually looked like the version of the team that played throughout the playoffs last season that was hard to guard even for the champion Celtics. Crisp ball movement on offense created plenty of scoring opportunities and upgrade human movement on defense created more offensive opportunities, including 29 points off of 16 turnovers.
That defensive effort allowed the Pacers to absorb a first half scoring binge by Devin Booker and a big second half binge by Kevin Durant. Booker scored 16 points in the first half but a groin strain shut his night down midway through the third quarter. Durant 16 of his game-high 37 in the fourth quarter, but the Pacers continued to spread the wealth and deliver a strong team effort for the win.
Rick Carlisle was able to play this one like a playoff game which is a rare situation in the regular season. With three days off before the game and two days off after, Carlisle tightened the rotation to 8.5 players with the starters playing heavy minutes. Jarace Walker and Thomas Bryant both played a few first half minutes but none in the second half as the Pacers rolled with what was working.
Pascal Siakam played almost 40 minutes and delivered 25 points and 18 rebounds. Oh, and that reminds me. NBA All-Star voting has started so feed Siakam some love. Andrew Nembhard appears to be closes to 100 percent and his impact on the starting unit is hard to quantify but certainly a factor. Just as a relief valve for Haliburton to keep things humming. Nembhard had 19 points and 4 assists, while Haliburton logged 12 assists.
Off the bench, TJ McConnell and Obi Toppin continued to deliver a positive impact. Toppin’s all around game is on the rise as he put up another efficient effort, scoring 13 points on just 7 shots with 8 rebounds in 17 minutes. Two of those points were on a run out Eastbay funk dunk in transition. Toppin also came off the bench briefly to easily jump up and free the ball stuck behind the top of the back board. Stunning, as usual.
Obviously, the Pacers were fully prepared to get this road trip started right, so now the test will be to see if they can maintain the level of play that looked so familiar to last May. This is not a team that can exhale at any point in the season and now they face two teams in Sacramento and Golden State that have plenty of potent players, yet neither is meeting the expectations they hoped for at the outset of the season.
This is particularly true of the Kings who have lost three in a row, including two consecutive to the Lakers at home. After adding DeMar DeRozan, with De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, the 13-16 record is perplexing. They have a top ten offense and are ranked 9th in total net rating. With supplementary scorers like Malik Monk, Keegan Murray and Kevin Huerter and progress the Pacers defense seemed to make in Phoenix will certainly be put to the test.
Tip time for the Sunday game is 6 p.m. ET which is always appreciated when the Pacers are playing in the Pacific time zone. It will also give the Pacers an extra four hours with their back-to-back in San Fran on Monday night. Again, no reason for a let down against the Kings after a couple of days off which included practice time, as the Pacers try to make up for lost time or more precisely lost games earlier in the season.
Pacers vs. Kings
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA
When: Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, 6:00 p.m. ET
TV: FanDuel Sports Network
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan
Odds: Pacers +2
Projected Starters
Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner
Kings: De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk, DeMar DeRozan, Keegan Murray, Domantas Sabonis
Injuries
Pacers: Ben Sheppard (oblique) - questionable, Aaron Nesmith (ankle) - out, James Wiseman (Achilles) - out, Isaiah Jackson (Achilles) - out
Kings: Trey Lyles (calf) - questionable, Keegan Murray (ankle) - questionable, Devin Carter (shoulder) - out