Early timeout sparks turnaround in Kings’ win over Pacers

SACRAMENTO — Sacramento Kings coach Luke Walton didn’t like what he saw in the opening minute against the Indiana Pacers on Monday night at Golden 1 Center. The Pacers were parading to the rim after two early turnovers helped Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis and Justin Holiday start the game with a series of dunks and layups.

Walton called a timeout 64 seconds into the game and the Kings responded, giving him a much better effort over the final 47 minutes. Harrison Barnes, De’Aaron Fox and Richaun Holmes had a lot to do with that.

Barnes scored 30 points and grabbed eight rebounds, leading the Kings to a 127-122 victory over the Pacers. Barnes was incredibly efficient, making 10 of 14 from the field, 2 of 3 from 3-point range and 8 of 8 from the freethrow line.

Fox finished with 21 points, nine assists and five rebounds for the Kings (5-6), who had lost two in a row and five of their last six. Buddy Hield, who came into the game shooting career lows of 34.8% from the field and 33.7% from 3-point range, made 6 of 11 from 3-point range to finish with 18 points.

Holmes was outstanding, too, posting 16 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high six blocked shots. Rookie Tyrese Haliburton added 12 points, four assists and three rebounds.

Sabonis had 28 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers (6-4). Malcolm Brogdon had 24 points and

nine assists. Oladipo finished with 21 points and six steals with four rebounds and four assists.

Lazy passes and a lack of movement contributed to a couple of turnovers as the Pacers jumped out to a 6-0 lead, but the Kings looked like a different team coming out of Walton’s early timeout. They went inside to Barnes for an easy basket and then forced a shotclock violation on the first in a series of strong defensive possessions.

The game was tied at the end of the first quarter and the Kings carried a 65-64 lead into the break. They shot 57.1% from the field, knocked down six 3-pointers and went 9 of 10 at the free-throw line in the opening half.

Indiana went up by three early in the third quarter, but Sacramento staged a 15-3 run to take an 89-77 lead on a 3-pointer by Hield. The Kings led 97-93 at the end of the third and went up by 10 early in the fourth, but the Pacers battled back to take a 115-113 lead on a basket by Oladipo with 3:34 remaining.

The teams traded leads until Hield knocked down a 3-pointer to put the Kings up 121-117 with 1:09 to go, sparking a decisive 9-2 run for Sacramento.