What we learned as Kings hit rock bottom with huge loss to Pacers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SACRAMENTO – Another game, another double-double from Domantas Sabonis and another frustrating loss for the Kings.
Sabonis had 17 points, 21 rebounds and four assists but finished minus-26 as the Kings bungled their way to a 122-95 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Sunday at Golden 1 Center.
De’Aaron Fox added 23 points and seven assists. Malik Monk scored 14 points while Keegan Murray had 10.
By comparison, the Pacers had seven players score in double figures. Former Kings’ first-round draft pick Tyrese Haliburton scored 14.
The Kings hung close in the first half and went into halftime tied at 52-52, but Indiana broke out for 35 points in the third quarter and cruised from there.
It wasn’t all completely bad.
The Kings did a much better job taking care of the ball than they had been in recent games, and snagged 15 offensive boards.
With the end result being another L, however, it doesn’t matter much. After grinding its way back to .500 a few weeks ago, Sacramento fell to 13-17 and remained in 12th place in the Western Conference.
Here are the takeaways from Sunday’s game:
Double-double dynasty
Sabonis takes a lot of heat because of his defense, which stems from him often having to guard players much larger and more physical than him.
There’s no debating Domas’ dominance on offense.
The Kings’ 240-pound center, who already is the franchise leader for double-doubles, added another one in what has become an annual gameday tradition. He needed just two quarters to notch his latest.
That’s 26 in the 28 games that Sabonis has played this season, and the 359th of his career – fifth-most in the NBA since 2016-17.
Lack of kick-out passes
The Kings only had mild success shooting, primarily behind the arc because they didn’t get many open looks.
A lot of that could be solved by driving the key to draw defenders down low and then making a spray pass out to the perimeter. It has been one of Mike Brown’s pet peeves all season, something that the head coach has been openly critical of in the past.
Rather than driving and dishing to the perimeter, the Kings were content just driving into traffic trying to get through multiple defenders. When they did pass the ball to the arc, the Pacers never were caught off guard and closed out easily.
Keon MIA
Keon Ellis has been the Kings’ best player off the bench this season because of his willingness to do whatever it takes or play wherever Brown needs him.
Yet Ellis nearly wound up as a healthy DNP. At one point, several fans seated near the Kings broke out in chants for Ellis to play, only to see No. 23 remain on the bench.
Ellis didn’t make his first appearance until fewer than five minutes remained to play and finished with three points in four and a half minutes. In a tight game like this, when Sacramento seemed to need an infusion of energy, it would have been nice to see him get more time.
