Photo by Rocky Widner
Sacramento, CA - Carl Landry grabbed a rebound off a missed jump shot by Rudy Gay and made the game-winning shot in the final seconds of overtime. The Kings snapped a four-game skid with a 102-101 win over the Indiana Pacers last night. It was a collective effort from all to beat the struggling Pacers. Gay lead the way lead the way scoring 27 points and Darren Collison finished with 20 points one point shy of his season high.
"Man, we needed this win," said Gay. "However, we got it it didn't matter, we just needed this win. There were times we reverted back to being the team that lost four games but we got it together and it's about time."
Despite a great start, Sacramento feel back into their old ways giving up their lead and allowing points off turnovers. Indiana outscored the Kings 24-16 in the fourth quarter. David West who recently returned from an ankle injury scored 14 of his 16 points in the final two quarters and missed a jump shot in overtime to end the game.
"This is frustrating as any loss," Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said. "We've won one that way and we've lost one that way. It's part of a long NBA season. I am proud of the way we competed down the stretch to make it a game when we were down."
C.J. Watson erased a four-point Sacramento lead in overtime, he hit a 3-pointer and scored on a driving layup to put Indiana up 101-100. No other Pacer score in overtime. The Kings outscored Indiana 6-5 and played great defense making stops when needed. Landry had 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench and made a phenomenal play with 0.8 seconds left in overtime.
"We ran a play to get Darren Collison open on the inbound play, to eventually give Rudy the ball on an isolation," said Landry." I just told my teammates that Reggie [Evans] and I will crash the glass. But in situations like that you never know. The ball will bounce your way and that's what it did tonight."
With the crowd on their feet, Landry grabbed the rebound on Gay's missed jump shot with seconds left on the clock, he put the ball back up for the easy basket. No coverage around him as defenders assumed the ball would go back to Gay. A great defensive move by Landry in the paint to secure the win.
"Frustrating loss," said West. "Roy [Hibbert] left to go help on Rudy's shot. I picked the wrong guy. I was engaged with Evans and Landry snuck in there. It was just a tough play to try and make, trying to keep both of those guys off the glass.
Sacramento was again without DeMarcus Cousins who missed his fourth game due to a viral infection. The Kings are 1-3 in his absence. This was the first win without Cousins in the lineup since a 121-79 win over the Chicago Bulls on March 3, 2013. Cousins was cleared to return next week after being released from a short stay the hospital this week.
"It's the first time we've won without him, between last year and this year," Kings head coach Michael Malone said. "I hope this gives us a little bit of confidence."