Pacers face Kings in battle of NBA conference cellar-dwellers
The Sacramento Kings will look to build on their first home win in nearly two months when they face the visiting Indiana Pacers on Tuesday.
The matchup features the two teams with the worst records in the NBA. Sacramento (15-50) is last in the Western Conference, while Indiana (15-49) has lost nine straight games and sits at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
Russell Westbrook had 23 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds for Sacramento on Sunday, when the Kings toppled the Chicago Bulls 126-110 for their first home win since beating the Washington Wizards on Jan. 16.
Westbrook, 37, tallied his NBA-record 208th career triple-double and fifth of the season to help Sacramento snap a three-game losing streak.
"Russ was spectacular," Kings coach Doug Christie said. "He controlled the ballgame. He found people in the pocket. He just continues to amaze that he can go out and produce the way he does. And (Sunday) was not only a great performance, but a needed performance for us."
Malik Monk scored a season-high 30 points off the bench in the victory, while rookie center Maxime Raynaud contributed 26 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots.
The Kings played without DeMar DeRozan (illness), who missed a game for the first time this season. Daeqwon Plowden started in place of DeRozan and tallied 16 points, three rebounds and two assists.
After the victory, Monk praised the fans in Sacramento who have stuck with the team during a dismal season.
"It always feels good to get a win at home, especially in front of this crowd," Monk said. "I don't even know our record -- something terrible -- but as bad as we are, they always give us a lot of energy. They're always cheering for us no matter how bad we are, so kudos to the fans."
The Kings have dropped their last three meetings against Indiana, including a 116-105 defeat on Dec. 8 in Indianapolis.
The Pacers are wrapping up a four-game trip after losing 131-111 to the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday. Indiana has dropped its past six games by an average of 19.7 points.
Pascal Siakam scored 22 points to lead the Pacers against Portland, while Jay Huff added 16 points and five blocks.
The Pacers, who are winless since the All-Star break, struggled to rally after Portland used an 19-5 run to open their lead to 69-52 at the half.
"We had done some good things leading up to that, and there are some good things sprinkled throughout the game, but consistency and being able to sustain are essential on the road," Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. "There were problems we just couldn't overcome."
Pacers point guard T.J. McConnell exited the Sunday game with a sore right hamstring in the fourth quarter and did not return. He will not play on Tuesday.
The injury-plagued Pacers have used 35 different starting lineups, which is the most in the NBA. The team is in evaluation mode with an eye toward next season.
"This is an opportunity to look at everything," Carlisle said, "and we're looking at a lot of different guys, a lot of different combinations, and by the time we're done, we're going to have a significant amount of information collected on our entire team. This is meaningful."