Indianapolis, IN - Paul George and the Indiana Pacers lost their third straight game tonight against DeMarcus Cousins and the Sacramento Kings at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. 

The Indiana Pacers, wearing their "Hoosiers" inspired Hickory Jerseys, called a timeout after trailing by two with 4.4 seconds remaining in the contest. The game ended after Pacers power forward Paul George missed a jumper at the buzzer. He finished the game with 12 points on a night where he shot a horrid 26%, adding to his less-than-average scoring slump. He did, however, finish with a double-double by adding 10 rebounds to his showing.

Sacramento started the game out strong, positioning themselves for the victory. Point guard Rajon Rondo had 13 points and 16 assists for a Kings team that has now won 5 of its last 7 games. The biggest factor for the Kings tonight was dominant power forward DeMarcus Cousins. He finished with a game high 25 points, 16 rebounds, and 3 blocks while sealing the win with two free throws with 1:05 left in the contest.

After balanced scoring in the first quarter, the Kings were able to pull away a bit for a comfortable 64-49 lead. By halftime, both Rondo and Sacramento guard Darren Collison had double-doubles. After halftime, the Pacers began to fight back, but did not take the lead again until a three-pointer from shooting guard Monta Ellis with less than two minutes to play in the game. After that, the Kings' defense came up strong as they did not allow Indiana to score another point in the game. 

Both teams did well offensively. Sacramento shot 51% from the field while Indiana was able to hit 46% of its shots. The Kings only shot 17.4% from three-point range, but they were lucky that George was only 1-for-7 on his three-point attempts for the Pacers.

The Pacers showed that while their offense is much improved from last season, their defense still remains inconsistent. Collison was able to dominate the paint as he came off the bench and scored 24 points on 11-of-17 shooting. One area of defense that Indiana has done particularly well in is forcing turnovers. They had 14 steals and only 11 offensive turnovers, but it was the Kings' hot shooting and 49-38 rebounding advantage that was key.

Sacramento had a 64-44 advantage in points in the paint as well. 

The Kings went finish their road trip with a 2-2 record, now having beaten Indiana three straight times in the head-to-head series. Head Coach George Karl is now one win shy of tying Phil Jackson (1,155) for the fifth-most wins as a coach in NBA history. 

Shooting guard Rodney Stuckey provided another good boost off the bench for Indiana as he had 14 points on 7-9 shooting. The Pacers also announced that rookie center Myles Turner will have an X-Ray on his thumb this Thursday. If he is cleared, he will begin practice right away, according to head coach Frank Vogel.

Next up for both teams: Sacramento hosts Portland on Sunday while Indiana visits Minnesota on Saturday.

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About the author
Mathew Seremet
Writer for the Indiana Pacers. I am a business at Indiana State University. My location switches between Pittsburgh and Indianapolis.