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Pacers, Kings meet in battle of last-place teams

Jan 3, 2009 - 11:18 AM Sacramento (8-25) at Indiana (11-21) 6:00 p.m. EST

INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- The first few months of the season have not exactly gone as planned for the Indiana Pacers or the Sacramento Kings.

When the teams meet Saturday, the Pacers will be hosting the battle of last-place clubs.

Indiana's problems are easy to spot - the team cannot stop anyone from scoring. The Pacers surrender 104.5 points per game, the second-worst mark in the Eastern Conference.

They score at a high clip as well but, with Mike Dunleavy out with a knee injury, the team does not have quite enough firepower to overcome the defensive deficiencies. Danny Granger leads the team in scoring at 24.9 points per game.

Indiana snapped a four-game losing streak on Friday, however, topping the New York Knicks, 105-103. Granger scored 22 points, but it was point guard Jarrett Jack who led the way, scoring a season-high 29 points and nailing the go-ahead shot in the waning seconds.

The Kings are already on their second coach of the season and have lost seven of their last eight games. They suffered a 98-92 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Friday, shooting just 34 percent in the setback.

Top scorer Kevin Martin has played in just 10 games this season due to a troublesome left ankle but has scored 20 points in each of the two games since returning to the lineup.