A monster triple-double performance from Russell Westbrook wasn’t enough to give the struggling Sacramento Kings their second straight victory after one of their best offensive performances of the season Saturday in Miami.
Westbrook finished with 24 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds and led a second-half comeback after a sleepy start, but the Kings couldn’t hold on to their late lead Monday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis. They fell, 116-105 to drop the final game of their three-game road trip, finishing 1-2.
Andrew Nembhard scored 12 of his game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter, while Bennedict Mathurin added 25 and Pascal Siakam scored 23. The Kings went scoreless for the last 2:59 of the game.
DeMar DeRozan scored 20 points and Zach LaVine added 16 after scoring 42 in the win over the Heat. The Pacers had 14 steals and 7 blocked shots and won despite shooting just 44% from the floor. Indiana outscored Sacramento by 21 from the 3-point line.
What looked like a blowout loss turned into a close game in the fourth quarter. The Kings trailed by 19 points in the third quarter before cutting it to a 4-point deficit into the fourth quarter. The Kings took a 99-97 lead with 6:41 remaining, but the Pacers’ starters responded with 3s from Nembhard and Mathurin.
Nembard made a hesitation layup with 1:14 remaining that made it a 7 point game and ultimately put it out of reach.
Westbook’s triple-double was his NBA-record 207th, which he reached in the third quarter. It was his fourth triple-double with the Kings this season.
Sacramento was down by as many as 19 in the third quarter but outscored the Pacers 37-26 in the frame to enter the fourth down just 4. The team bounced back after struggling offensively in the first half by making 14 of the first 22 from the field.
The Kings fell to 5-19 while the Pacers improved to 6-18. Sacramento was trying for consecutive wins for just the second time this season.
The Pacers, of course, were without star point guard and former King Tyrese Haliburton (Achilles), Aaron Nesmith (MCL sprain), Ben Sheppard (calf strain) and Obi Toppin (stress fracture in his right foot). The Kings were missing Domantas Sabonis, who missed his 10th straight game with a partial meniscus tear.
Halftime report
The Kings fell behind 35-23 in the first quarter while the Pacers made 12 of 13 from the free-throw line. Mathurin had 11 and then 8 more in the second quarter. Indiana took a 66-51 lead at halftime.
The Kings shot just 41% after shooting 53% two nights earlier during their win in Miami, their most lopsided victory of the season. The Kings in the first half were paced by 10 points from DeRozan and 9 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists from Westbrook.
The Pacers had just 4 turnovers. They blocked 6 Kings shots and had 7 steals, compared to 1 and 2 for Sacramento.
Maxime Raynaud, making his second NBA start, opened with 8 points with 1 rebound and 1 assist during his first 11:39 in the first half.
Schroder injury update
Point guard Dennis Schroder was inactive with a right hip flexor strain causing him to miss his sixth straight game. Schroder hasn’t played since Nov. 24 when he logged 24:18 with 6 points and 9 assists in an overtime win against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Schroder has been with the team throughout its road trip and been an active participant in shootarounds. Oddly, he’s been listed as “questionable” on the official injury report rather than being ruled out early. He was ruled out two hours before Monday’s tipoff.
“I’ll leave that to our medical professionals,” Christie said. “But he’s been out for a little, so there will probably be a return to play (process). We gotta make sure he’s right before he gets out there. But he’s working, doing everything that’s been asked of him.”
The Kings have said Schroder remains day to day and did not have a more specific timeline on his hip flexor strain.
Carter given a chance at minutes... in the G League
The Kings on Sunday announced second-year guard Devin Carter was sent to the G League Stockton Kings continuing the disappointing start for the former lottery pick. Carter has struggled to carve out minutes on Sacramento’s guard-heavy roster, which has extended to garbage time.
Carter has appeared in just eight of Sacramento’s 24 games this season. He’s averaged 2.1 points on 23.8% shooting over 8.1 minutes per game. He’ll have a chance to practice with Stockton and play in their game Tuesday against the South Bay Lakers.
Up next
The Kings will return from their three-game road trip to host the Denver Nuggets on Thursday before traveling to Minnesota on Sunday to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves. Both games were added to the schedule in light of the knockout rounds of the In-Season Tournament.