• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Kings down playoff-hopeful Pacers

Mar 26, 2011 - 3:00 AM Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - DeMarcus Cousins scored 18 points with 14 rebounds as the Sacramento Kings handled the Indiana Pacers, 110-93, at Conseco Fieldhouse.

"Tough loss, we knew it wouldn't be an easy night," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "We defended decently in the first quarter, we just couldn't throw it in the ocean."

Francisco Garcia and Samuel Dalembert both finished with 16 points, with Dalembert grabbing 10 boards. Marcus Thornton and Donte Greene added 15 points apiece for Sacramento, which got 12 points and six assists from Beno Udrih.

The Kings improved to 3-1 on a five-game road trip that ends Sunday in Philadelphia.

"I thought (Cousins) set the tone with his quickness and aggressiveness," Kings coach Paul Westphal said. "I think we've got a good young team and we're learning lessons and learning how to win."

Tyreke Evans, who had been out of the Kings lineup since February 13 with plantar fasciitis, finished with six points and eight assists in just over 17 minutes.

Danny Granger paced Indiana with a game-high 20 points and Paul George added 12 points and eight rebounds in the loss. The Pacers remain in the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Sacramento held a slim 22-18 lead after a back-and-forth first quarter and began to pull away in the second. An Evans three-point play 3:20 into the quarter gave the Kings a 32-23 lead.

Later, consecutive baskets from Cousins and Dalembert started a 9-0 run that widened it to 47-30 and Sacramento took a 55-37 lead into the break.

The Kings held Indiana to only 19 points on 28 percent from the field in the second and were boosted by nine points from Garcia, who went 4-of-5 from the field.

A Thornton basket just over two minutes into the third widened Sacramento's lead to 59-39, and even though the Pacers had an 11-0 to cut their deficit to 71-62, the Kings ended the quarter on a 14-6 run to all but seal the victory.

The fourth quarter was never in contention.

"This was a bad loss, very bad loss," Granger said.

Game Notes

Dahntay Jones and Roy Hibbert both finished with 11 points for Indiana, which shot a dismal 4-of-25 from three-point range...The Pacers went 25-of-30 from the line, while Sacramento was 7-of-10...Darren Collison and A.J. Price both chipped in nine points for the victors.