Indianapolis ? Every time Sacramento needed a big shot, a key pass or a defensive stop, Chris Webber delivered Saturday night.
He wasn’t anywhere near satisfied, though.
Webber finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, Mike Bibby added 21 points, and Brad Miller made four free throws in the final 9 seconds of overtime as the Kings escaped with a 97-92 victory over Indiana.
“They made us take quick shots and we played a little selfish at times,” Webber said. “But we have to play on a more consistent level to be as good as we want to be.”
For Sacramento, it was an atypical game by almost every measure.
The Kings had their streak of 100-point games end at four. And after dominating the inside with a 57-28 rebounding edge in their first meeting with Indiana this season, the Kings won that battle just 47-44 Saturday.
Coach Rick Adelman also was critical of Sacramento’s sloppy play. The Kings committed a season-high 24 turnovers and still managed to sweep the Pacers for the third straight season.
“We were terrible,” Adelman said. “I think it was a lack of concentration, and we were lucky enough to win down the stretch.”
Indiana again played short-handed, something that has become routine since its brawl in Detroit last month.
This time the Pacers were missing Scot Pollard and Jamaal Tinsley and lost center David Harrison for a short stretch during the first half when he bruised his right hip. Harrison returned but finished with just six points.
Yet six Pacers reached double figures, including Austin Croshere who came off the bench to score 21 – 13 in the fourth quarter and overtime – when he seemed to carry the team. Jeff Foster added 11 points and 18 rebounds, a season high for any Pacers player this season.
But fatigue clearly was a factor as the Pacers played their second game in two days.
Indiana’s shooting percentage dropped dramatically during the final 17 minutes, going from 43 percent after three quarters to 33 percent in the fourth and 25 percent in overtime. Reggie Miller finished with 13 points and missed his last eight shots as the Pacers lost their seventh straight.
The losing streak is Indiana’s longest since February 1993.
“There is no explanation why we are missing 3-pointers,” Croshere said. “A loss is a loss, and we’ve got to shake this.”
The game, however, was a marked contrast to the Kings’ 113-87 blowout on Dec. 1.
Indiana counterpunched nearly basket-for-basket although neither team could pull away, and the Pacers led 73-68 with 7:30 left in the fourth quarter.
But Sacramento tied the score, on Webber’s dunk with 5:49 left, then took a 75-73 lead when Peja Stojakovic posted up for a layup – his first basket since the first quarter. Stojakovic finished with 12 points.
The Pacers still had a chance to win in regulation after Fred Jones stole the ball with 2.6 seconds left and the score tied at 85. After a timeout, Indiana inbounded to Foster, who had an open lane to the basket. But he lost the ball as time expired.
“We must continue to scratch, claw, bite and play with a sense of urgency to stop the streak,” Indiana’s Fred Jones said after scoring 17 points.
In overtime, Croshere’s 3-pointer with 1:59 to go gave the Pacers a 90-89 lead, but Bibby answered with a 13-footer for Sacramento.
The only basket Indiana got the rest of the way was a driving layup from Fred Jones with 9.8 seconds left to cut the Kings’ lead to 93-92.
Brad Miller, a former All-Star with the Pacers, then sealed the win with four straight free throws. He also had 13 rebounds and seven assists, and Webber was relieved.
“You should beat this Indiana team without all those players, so it shows how much heart they have,” he said. “I don’t want to blame a lot of it on us, because a lot of it was them.”
Notes: The Pacers used the same starting lineup for the second straight game. It marked the first time in six games that Indiana used the same starters in back-to-back contests. … Stojakovic did not play in overtime after bruising his right quad. … Tinsley missed the game with a sprained right ankle.
