Bojan Bogdanovic, Oladipo lead Pacers over Kings

SACRAMENTO — Bojan Bogdanovic had 25 points and All-Star Victor Oladipo scored 13 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter as the Indiana Pacers held off the Sacramento Kings, 106-103, Thursday night at Golden 1 Center.

Thaddeus Young added 18 points for the Pacers (45-31).

Bogdan Bogdanovic led the Kings (24-52) with 21 points. Buddy Hield had 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Willie Cauley-Stein had 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists, but only had two points after halftime.

The Kings trailed 99-98 with 30.1 seconds to play, but gave up a 3-pointer to Oladipo on the next possession to give the Pacers enough breathing room.

Here are three takeaways from the game:

Bogi has his legs back — At least for a night, Bogdan Bodganovic looked like the player he’d been most of the season. March had been rough on Bogdanovic. He entered Thursday shooting 39 percent for the month, but shot 8 of 15 Thursday.

Thursday’s performance could be the springboard to a strong finish to the season.

These Kings want to compete — Tuesday’s effort in the loss to Dallas was dreadful. The Kings looked lethargic, something that has been a problem too often this season.

Perhaps having more fans in the stands helped, but the Kings played with a lot more energy and enthusiasm against the Pacers.

While they’re playing out their final games with an eye toward the offseason, the Kings still should show a sense of urgency every time they step on the court.

Pulse at the point — Kings point guards De’Aaron Fox and Frank Mason III were abysmal against Dallas, combining to shoot 3 of 23. Neither put up statistics that were spectacular against the Pacers, but they were at least able to affect the game positively.

Mason had 12 points and two assists. Fox had eight points and five assists.