Interim Kings coach Doug Christie explained his decision to stick with Malik Monk late in Monday’s loss to the Indiana Pacers despite his shooting struggles.
Monk was held to five points on 2-of-14 shooting with seven rebounds, seven assists and five turnovers in a 111-109 loss to the Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Christie recently moved Keon Ellis into the starting lineup ahead of Monk, but Monk was part of the closing lineup as the Pacers staged a 10-0 run in the final 2:35.
“Knowing that we’re going to need a little bit of playmaking and we’re going to need to make shots,” Christie said. “Plus, if we’re going to win at a high level, we’re going to need Malik Monk, make no mistake about it.”
Monk was held to nine points with six turnovers in Saturday’s 121-91 loss to the Orlando Magic
“Malik is going to make shots,” Christie said. “This is two tough games for him in a row, but it’s not anything he hasn’t faced before. With the amount of shots he gets, he will be able to find his way. I’m extremely confident in that.”
Aaron Nesmith scored 24 points for the Pacers (44-31), who are fourth in the Eastern Conference. Obi Toppin came off the bench to post 19 points and seven rebounds. Former Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton had 18 points and 11 assists.
DeMar DeRozan had 31 points and eight assists for the Kings (36-39), who are 10th in the Western Conference with a one-game lead over the Phoenix Suns for the final play-in spot. The Kings have lost six of seven and 10 of their last 13.
Domantas Sabonis had 25 points and 16 rebounds. Zach LaVine scored 20 points. Keegan Murray had 12 points and seven rebounds. Ellis had nine points on 3-of-4 shooting with three rebounds, four assists and one steal.
The Kings came out cold, going 3 of 12 from the field and 0 of 5 from 3-point range. Meanwhile, the Pacers went 6 of 10 overall and 4 of 6 from long distance to take an early 10-point lead.
The Kings came alive after Sabonis and Murray threw down two emphatic dunks. A series of defensive stops allowed Sacramento to stage a 10-0 run to tie the game.
The Kings led 28-27 at the end of the opening period. The teams traded leads a number of times in the second quarter. Indiana went up 50-46 on a basket by Aaron Nesmith, but the Kings outscored the Pacers 14-4 over the final 3:34 to take a 60-54 lead into the halftime break.
Sacramento started the second half with a 16-6 run to take a 76-60 lead. The Kings led 93-84 following a 3-pointer by DeRozan early in the fourth quarter. The Pacers got within one on a floater by Haliburton with 4:11 to go.
The Kings went up 98-95 on a basket by DeRozan with 2:50 to play, but Haliburton made a layup, a 3-pointer and two free throws as part of a 10-0 run that put the Pacers up 105-98 with 23.1 seconds remaining.
The Kings shot 46.7% from the field and 44.4% from 3-point range, but they only attempted 27 3-pointers.
“That was really a big difference in the game,” Christie said. “They shot 41 3s and we shot 27. If we shoot more, we usually find space, we share the basketball and we knock down shots. And tonight, we did through most of the game, and then we got stagnant there just trying to find our way.”
Monk committed five of Sacramento’s 12 turnovers. The team’s turnover total wasn’t the problem. It was the fact that the Kings were outscored 20-12 in points off turnovers.
“We just have to make sure all of us — not only (Monk) — all of us are taking care of the basketball,” Christie said. “That’s big, especially against these teams where the margin for error is so, so small. Those are not the points we can give away. You cut that down in half to 10 and we win the game going away.”