Domantas Sabonis passed Oscar Robertson for the franchise record with his 30th consecutive double-double, posting 26 points and 12 rebounds as the Sacramento Kings topped the Indiana Pacers 133-122 on Friday in Indianapolis.
Sabonis, who played in Indiana from 2016-17 until he was traded to Sacramento to February 2022, added to his NBA-leading collection of double-doubles (43) while helping pace a balanced offensive effort for the Kings.
Four Sacramento scorers finished with at least 22 points. De’Aaron Fox went for 25 points and helped key the Kings’ defensive effort with six steals. Malik Monk came off the bench to notch 23 points, and Harrison Barnes scored 22 points.
The Kings made up for committing 16 turnovers with 51-of-90 shooting from the floor (56.7 percent), while forcing the Pacers into 22 turnovers.
Indiana briefly pulled within seven points in the final minute, but after Sabonis dunked out of a press break, Fox swiped his final steal for another quick basket to put the game away.
The Kings improved to 4-1 on their seven-game road swing.
Sacramento led by as many as 18 points late in the third quarter on the strength of an 18-8 run. Six different Kings scored over the burst that spanned almost 5:30.
Indiana rallied to trim the deficit to single digits midway through the fourth quarter thanks in part to a pair of Bennedict Mathurin 3-pointers.
Mathurin, who led Indiana with 25 points in a win at Sacramento on Jan. 18, again powered the Pacers on Friday with a game-high 31 points.
Five Indiana scorers reached double figures, including Tyrese Haliburton with 14 points.
Haliburton, named an All-Star Game starter last week, played his third consecutive contest and both contests of the Pacers’ back-to-back set in his return from a left hamstring injury. He was limited to 21:32 of playing time as a reserve on Friday.
Buddy Hield also came off the Indiana bench and scored 17 points with a team-high three made 3-pointers on eight attempts. Pascal Siakam scored 22 points, and Isaiah Jackson added 10 points and eight rebounds.
–Field Level Media
