Pacers hold off Kings in double overtime

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers are still trying to figure out how to make up for Danny Granger’s absence.

In the meantime, they’re content to rely on their suddenly staunch defense.

George Hill scored the first four points of the second overtime on Saturday night and his teammates took care of the rest, allowing only three baskets over the final 10:45 to lead the Pacers past Sacramento 106-98 in double overtime.

If the Pacers (2-1) demonstrated anything Saturday, it was how they could continue to win without their injured scoring leader.

Hill finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists. David West had 18 points and 18 rebounds. Paul George added 16 points and a career-high 17 rebounds, while Gerald Green had 17 points and All-Star center Roy Hibbert finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks.

From the moment Indiana tied the score at 36 with 5:25 left in the first half, the Kings never retook the lead.

“It’s tough,” said Sacramentop guard Aaron Brooks said. “To go into double overtime and not get 100, I think that’s something that kind of baffles us. We’re such a good offensive team.”

Not on this night.

While DeMarcus Cousins delivered his usual double-double (21 points, 13 rebounds), and Marcus Thornton almost single-handedly rallied the Kings with 26 points and four 3-pointers, the Kings shot just 36.3 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from 3-point range. In the extra 10 minutes, they were even worse — just 3-of-19 from the field overall.

“I thought they competed at a really high level and we just didn’t pull it out,” said Sacramento coach Keith Smart.

The problem wasn’t lack of effort.

Sacramento cut Indiana’s 14-point halftime lead to eight after the third quarter and to one when Chuck Hayes hit an 11-foot jumper with 1:07 left in regulation.

West made it 91-88 with an 11-footer, and Thornton finally tied the score at 91 with 48.6 seconds to go.

Indiana had four chances to take the late lead in those final seconds, missing all four shots. Thornton, too, had a chance to give Sacramento the lead on a fast break, but George cut in front of him and caused an errant shot.

So the game went to overtime.

Lance Stephenson’s trey and Hibbert’s 6-footer gave Indiana a 96-93 lead with 41.2 seconds left, but Thornton tied it again with a 3 and Hill and Hibbert couldn’t get their potentially winning shots to go before the buzzer sounded, forcing another overtime.

“It’s going to come,” Vogel said of the Pacers offense. “We’re working some new faces in there. Gerald and Lance haven’t been in our rotations and George Hill is coming along.”

He certainly demonstrated that two minutes into the second overtime when he broke the tie with a 6-foot runner and then was awarded a layup when Cousins was called for goaltending. That made it 100-96 with 1:44 left, all the Pacers had to do was close it out with defense.

“I wasn’t making shots, my teammates were not making shots,” West said. “But we were able to keep pushing and get the win in a very nasty game.”