Kings go to overtime again in Indiana but lose to Pacers 115-111

All-Star DeMarcus Cousins attacks the basket Photo NBAE

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings had to play overtime for the second consecutive game in three days in Indiana on Friday night against the Pacers. Unfortunately for the Kings, they came up on the short end of the game this time as they lost 115-111.

Sacramento (18-28) is now 1-4 in overtime games this season. Indiana (24-22) is 4-1 when have to play an extra session. Four of their 24 wins have come in overtime. That is not only impressive but it may vital to their seeding come playoff time.

The Kings started the game strong – something they have had trouble doing all season long. Sacramento shot 61.8% in the first half and hit 11-of-16 3-point attempts to take a 64-55 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The second half was not as kind to the Kings. Being on the road came back to haunt Sacramento. They shot just 39.3% in the second half and hit just 1-of-8 3-point shots. The Kings also gave up a 16 lead to the Pacers who came back to tie the game at the end of regulation to force the overtime.

Indiana changed their tactics and began to play very physical in the second half. The Kings did not respond very well to the physical play and were taken out of their game by the Pacers. Paul George also came to life and took over the game for his team scoring 16 points – 14 of those points from the free throw line.

George scored six of the Pacers 11 points in overtime. When needed, the superstars of “the association” always do their best to step up to lead their teams.

The Kings played well for 40 of the 48 minutes in regulation. If they could have added another three to four minutes to that total, they might have been able to avoid overtime and notched another victory.

Joerger’s analysis of the game

• Heck of an NBA game
• Proud of guys (Joerger is consistent in trying to build his players up)
• Ran into a team that has our number right now
• Shot just 37.5% in second half
• They were on the foul line 28 times in the second half
• We got to go on and play the next night in Charlotte tomorrow

Ty Lawson had another big game for the Kings Photo NBAE

Who did what in the game

Kings

• Cousins – 26th double-double game 26 points, 13 rebounds five assists
• Darren Collison – 26 points, 4-for-6 3’s, five assists, three steals
• Ty Lawson – 16 points, 8-of-8 from free throw line, six assists,two 3’s
• Arron Afflalo – 15 points, 6-for-9 field goals, three 3-pointers
• Team 49.3 FG%, 50% 3-pointers, 77.8 Free Throw %
• The stat they would change 19 turnovers that resulted in 25 Pacer points

Darren Collison 26 points versus the Pacers Photo NBAE

Pacers

• Paul George – game-high 33 points, 16-for-17 at the free throw line
• CJ Miles – 18 points, 6-for-9 from 3-point land, all attempts were 3’s
• Jeff Teague – 17 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, 5-for-11 shooting
• Team – 48.7 FG%, 35.7% 3-point shooting, 87.9 Free Throw%

Up next on the schedule

For the Kings, the incredible four games in five days schedule continues. They are off to Charlotte for the back end of a back-to-back road set. Charlotte is in seventh-place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 23-24.

Indiana will return to action on Sunday when they will host the Houston Rockets.

Hawks get by Warriors in matchup of NBA heavyweights

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

ATLANTA — If critics still had their doubts about the Atlanta Hawks being the best team in the NBA.

Doubt no more.

Atlanta finished with seven players score in double figures, led by Jeff Teague’s 23 points on 5-of-15 shooting from the field, but shot 11-of-11 from the charity stripe as the Hawks shot a blistering 70.6 percent in the third quarter to take a 124-116 home victory over the Golden State Warriors Friday night in the battle of the top two teams from each conference.

Paul Milsap scored 21 points, Kyle Korver had 17 points (5-of-9 from 3-point range), and Al Horford finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Hawks, who improved to an NBA-best 42-9 and 14-3 versus the Western Conference with the victory.

The lion share of the credit must got to the Hawks’ bench, that really determine the outcome of the game.

Mike Scott scored 17 points, Kent Bazemore had 11 points, and Dennis Schroder finished with nine points but combined to sink 7-of-8 on 3s. The second-best 3-pointing shooting shot 15-of-27 from 3-point range and outscored the Warrior’s bench, 39-32.

“They were good,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. “They were better than us. We broke down defensively. They had a lot to do with that because of the way they stretch you out.”

The Hawks have won 21 of their last 22 games following a franchise record 19-game winning streak.

After leading 25-21 at the end of the first quarter, Golden State (39-9) just slowed down against Hawks team that improved to 25-3 at home this season, second to Golden State’s 23-2 record at Oracle Arena.

Klay Thompson had a game-high 29 points and Stephen Curry scored 26 points, to go along with nine assist and one turnover.

Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green had 12 points apiece, but Green had a gigantic night on the glass, finishing with a career-high 20 rebounds.

Golden State did have their way with the Hawks in the paint, outscoring Atlanta 58-36 down low. The Warriors even held the edge in rebounding, outrebouding the Hawks 51-38.

But Golden State committed too many turnovers (14), and never overcame the 14-4 run by Atlanta in the final minute of the second quarter after leading 50-47.

Golden State will have another chance at Atlanta when the Hawks visit Oakland on Mar. 18.

The Warriors continue their road trip Saturday night at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks, their fourth game in five nights.

Extra Buckets:

• The game showcase three of the eight contenders in the Three-Point Contest before NBA All-Star Weekend in New York Feb. 14 in Warriors’ duo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, and Atlanta’s Kyle Korver.
• The entire starting five of the Hawks (Horford, Teague, Korver, Milsap, and Carroll) were named Eastern Conference Players of the Month for January, the first time in NBA history that an entire starting five were given the honor. Atlanta finished 17-0 in January, tops in the NBA.
• Apparently, Curry does not like Teague defending him at all. According to ESPN Stats and Information, Curry shot 3-of-8 on jump shots with Teague as his primary defender. In the first quarter, Curry shot 1-of-6 from the field, his worst of the season. He was 0-of-4 against Teague.