Game Rewind: Pacers 109, Kings 110

Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield put on a show in their first game against the team that traded them to Indiana on Feb. 8.

But the Kings got the last laugh, as Damian Jones' tip-in with 0.2 seconds remaining lifted Sacramento (26-48) to a 110-109 victory over Indiana (25-48) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Hield and Haliburton combined for 38 points and 22 assists for the Blue & Gold, but a late mistake by Hield set up Jones' game-winner and prevented Indiana from picking up a third straight win.

Indiana held a narrow 103-101 lead after two Haliburton free throws with 5:02 remaining in the game. Neither team scored again until 3:12, when Sacramento tied the game on Trey Lyles' layup.

Hield answered with a bucket of his own on the other end before Davion Mitchell knocked down a go-ahead three for the Kings at 2:27. Once again, Hield had a response, getting to the bucket and scoring at 2:11 to put the hosts back in front.

Each team missed on their next possession. Haliburton then intercepted a Mitchell pass and eventually set up Terry Taylor, who drew a foul with 1:08 to play. The rookie knocked down both free throws to push the Pacers' lead to three.

The two teams traded misses before Mitchell converted a baseline jumper with 18.7 seconds left to cut the deficit to one. After a timeout the Pacers put the ball in Hield's hands, but the Kings didn't foul right away. As Hield dribbled left across the court, he lost the ball out of bounds with 14 seconds to play.

"It's basketball, man," Hield said of the crucial turnover. "I was looking ahead and trying to beat my guy and just lost the ball...Maybe I should have (held) the ball, let them come trap me or foul me. But I was just trying to get the ball over halfcourt so I didn't get (an eight-second violation)."

After a timeout, the Kings put the ball in Mitchell's hands. Indiana doubled him as he drove baseline, but they swung the ball to Lyles, who had an open look from the right wing. Lyles missed, but Jones was there to clean up the miss with 0.2 seconds remaining.

Indiana could only managed a desperation lob with so little time left, and Jones intercepted it to seal the win for Sacramento.

Hield had a game-high 25 points, going 10-for-18 from the field and 5-for-8 from 3-point range, to go along with seven assists and four steals.

"I love Buddy Hield," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said after the loss. "Ever since he got here, he's been enthusiastic, he's been a willing learner. He's doing a better job defensively all the time. Offensively, he can make plays. He's not just a shooter, not just a scorer. He drives the ball well, he sees things. I'm sure he's disappointed."

Haliburton was just 4-for-14 from the field, but managed to tally 13 points, five rebounds, 15 assists, and three steals.

Goga Bitadze scored seven of Indiana's first 11 points on Wednesday, but the Blue & Gold still found themselves in an early eight-point hole before Hield came to life. The former King scored eight straight Indiana points against his former team, drilling two threes and then scoring off a backdoor cut, a 10-2 Pacers run to tie the game at 26.

The Pacers actually took a brief 31-28 lead after Taylor banked in a three with 2:30 left in the first quarter. Sacramento responded with nine unanswered points before Lance Stephenson's buzzer-beating trey ended Indiana's drought and trimmed the deficit to 37-34 entering the second quarter.

The Kings opened the ensuing frame with another 8-0 surge thanks to a Chimezie Metu dunk, Justin Holiday three, and then a trey from Metu. The Pacers chipped away at Sacramento's lead over the remainder of the quarter, getting the deficit down to 64-61 entering the final minute of the first half.

Harrison Barnes' runner with 27.9 seconds left pushed the lead back to five and Duane Washington Jr. missed a three at the buzzer that would have made it a two-point game entering halftime.

The Pacers finally surged ahead in the third quarter, however, thanks to their duo of former Kings stars. Haliburton set up Hield for a 3-pointer to tie the game at 72 with 8:29 remaining in the third quarter. They connected again a minute later for a go-ahead three.

Indiana remained in front a few minutes later, when Hield pulled up in transition for his third trey of the quarter. The next trip down the floor, Haliburton fired a no-look dish to Taylor for a reverse layup. Then, after Hield came up with a steal, Haliburton raced down the lane and finished at the rim to extend the Pacers' lead to 87-76.

Haliburton was fired up as the Kings took a timeout, letting out a primal scream before dapping up Oshae Brissett on his way back to the Pacers' bench.

The Kings closed the frame with a 9-2 run, however, to make it an 89-85 game entering the fourth. Sacramento even took a brief lead in the final frame thanks to a Donte DiVincenzo three followed by a Jeremy Lamb layup in the first minute of the fourth.

The Pacers moved back in front after a pair of baskets, but back-to-back threes by Lamb allowed the Kings to retake the lead. There were three lead changes and a tie over the next two-plus minutes.

Bitadze finished with 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting and nine rebounds in the loss. Taylor tallied 13 points and seven rebounds off the bench, while Brissett registered 10 points and 10 boards.

Mitchell had a team-high 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting and seven assists for Sacramento. Metu added a career-high 22, going 8-for-11 from the field and 3-for-4 from 3-point range.

The Pacers will travel to Memphis to face the Grizzlies on Thursday on the second night of a back-to-back. They then visit Toronto on Saturday before returning for a two-game homestand.

Wednesday was the fourth time Hield has scored 25 or more points in 17 games with the Pacers. He accomplished the feat seven times in 55 games this season with Sacramento.

Washington (11 points) and Stephenson (10 points) both reached double figures off the bench for Indiana.

Lamb tallied 10 points, five rebounds, and three assists off the bench in his return to Indiana. Holiday, also a part of the Feb. 8 trade, started for Sacramento and scored three points on 1-of-6 3-point shooting in 21 minutes.

Metu had 18 points in 10 first-half minutes. That alone matched his previous career high, set on Dec. 17 against Memphis.

"It's stuff that we can learn from as a young team. We'll get better from it...we've got to do a better job of ball security and then we had a foul to give situation and they eluded us a little bit, but didn't take it." -Carlisle on the Pacers' late-game mistakes

"Rick has trusted me a lot to do more and that's something I've wanted to do. In Sacramento they didn't let me do it, I was just a guy that would stand in the corner and catch and shoot. Change is great for me, I'm happy to change...I'm more at peace." -Hield on his expanded role in Indiana

"I thought he played great, he just didn't have a terrific shooting night. There were a couple that were right there that I know he was disappointed...The guy always plays with joy. He always plays the right way. He's a total energy-giver. I can't wait to see him playing with our full compliment of players." -Carlisle on Haliburton's performance

"It's basketball. It's fun. Obviously it was good to see my former teammates. I thought we were in a position to win, we just didn't execute down the stretch." -Haliburton on playing against the team that drafted him

"Those guys are great guys over there. They know that I was over there for a long time (and it was) time for a change of scenery. Those guys are still my friends. We went to war together. We didn't accomplish what we wanted to accomplish. Change definitely needed to happen, (but) we don't hold no grudges against each other." -Hield on maintaining relationships with his former teammates

Haliburton is the first player in the NBA this season to have a game with 15 or more assists and zero turnovers. The only other players who have done that in the last decade are Chris Paul (six times), Rajon Rondo (twice), Russell Westbrook, Damian Lillard, Dennis Schroder, Ben Simmons, LeBron James, and James Harden.

The Pacers travel to Memphis to take on Jaren Jackson Jr. and the Grizzlies on the second night of a back-to-back on Thursday, March 24 at 8:00 PM ET.

After a two-game road trip, the Pacers return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse to host Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, March 28 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »