Pacers hang on for important road win over Kings
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 15 of his 25 points in the first half to help the Indiana Pacers post a 106-103 victory over the host Sacramento Kings on Thursday at Golden 1 Center.
Victor Oladipo scored 13 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter as Indiana won for the fourth straight time and fifth in six games. Thaddeus Young contributed 18 points and eight rebounds for the Pacers, who shot 50 percent from the field and stand three percentage points behind the fourth-place Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 21 points and Buddy Hield added 20 for the Kings, who have lost five of their past six games. Willie Cauley-Stein scored 19 points on 9-for-11 shooting and Frank Mason III had 12 points off the bench for Sacramento, which shot 53.8 percent from the field.
The contest tipped off on time after the past two Sacramento home games featured disruptions from protestors outside the arena. Marchers have been protesting the death of 22-year-old Stephon Clark, who was shot by police on March 18.
Oladipo's basket gave Indiana a 92-88 edge with 6:04 remaining. Sacramento's Vince Carter converted a three-point play 16 seconds later before Oladipo registered his own three-point play to start a 7-0 run as Indiana took a 99-91 lead with 3:02 to go.
The Kings crept within 99-96 on Hield's 3-pointer with 1:06 left, and Hield hit two free throws to make it a one-point game with 30.6 seconds left. Oladipo responded by draining a 3-pointer with 17.9 seconds left before Hield trimmed the Sacramento deficit to 102-100 by hitting a 20-footer with 13.2 seconds left.
The Kings later moved within 104-103 on Bogdan Bogdanovic's 3-pointer with 4.3 seconds to play. Oladipo made two free throws with 2.5 seconds left for the final margin as Bogdan Bogdanovic's desperation, 3-point heave was short of the mark.
Both teams shot 56.1 percent in the first half as the Pacers held a 61-56 lead at the break.
Bogdan Bogdanovic drained a jumper to give Sacramento a 42-35 lead with 7:24 left in the half before Indiana erupted on a 24-8 burst to take a nine-point lead. The Kings scored six straight before the Pacers received a basket from Bojan Bogdanovic with one second left for the five-point halftime lead.
A three-point play by Bojan Bogdanovic gave Indiana a 71-65 advantage with 5:13 remaining in the third period. Sacramento finished the quarter strong and Mason hit a buzzer-beating jumper to knot the score at 79 entering the final stanza.
The Bogdanovics are not related. Bojan is from Croatia and Bogdan is a Serbian.
--Field Level Media
