Three takeaways from Indiana Pacers inspired victory over Sacramento Kings

The Indiana Pacers were down four starters on Thursday night in Sacramento, but they still found a way to take down the Kings. Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam didn't play, yet Indiana's offense hummed. How did they pull it off?

Their depth shined. Seven players reached double figures in points for the Pacers, and they dished out 33 assists while attacking the rim all night. After two losses earlier this week, the blue and gold re-established their style in a win.

"We needed everybody. We made it a little hard on ourselves down the stretch. We finished it... next guy up," guard T.J. McConnell said on the Bally Sports Indiana broadcast of the game just after the final buzzer. He correctly noted that the Pacers made it hard on themselves — they were up by 16 points with 2:12 to go in the game yet gave the Kings a chance to tie it with seconds remaining.

But the blue and gold held on to improve to 24-17. That's an impressive win total at the halfway point of the season, and their entire dynamic could change soon with Siakam in the fold and Haliburton set to return soon.

There are some major takeaways for the Pacers. Some were out of their control, but they have to be happy with most everything from Thursday night.

Indiana's youth shined

The banged-up Pacers needed to rely on some of their younger players in this game. Five of the nine guys who suited up for the team are on rookie scale deals, and while Jalen Smith technically isn't, he is still a young player in his first four seasons.

All of Indiana's youth impressed in some way last night. Smith stood out with 17 points and 13 rebounds, and he did it while dealing with a stomach bug. He toggled between both the five and the four seamlessly.

Bennedict Mathurin stole the show on offense, dropping in 25 points while barely getting to the foul line. He only took one shot from the charity stripe — the lowest total in his career in a game in which he scored 25+ points. He's only done that with under six foul shots once before.

Obi Toppin had an efficient outing while Isaiah Jackson was productive before suffering a concussion. The frontcourt reserves did their job.

The Pacers rookies rose to the occasion, too. Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard have played sparingly this season and have racked up experience in the G League, but they were needed on Thursday night. They were both ready.

Sheppard was terrific on defense, providing activity and energy. He had a career-high two steals in the game and added seven points and four rebounds. The 26th overall pick in 2023 played for over 26 minutes for the first time in his career and looked comfortable.

"It's [the] next man up mentality... I was just ready to go from the start," he said during a halftime interview on the Bally Sports Indiana broadcast.

Walker, meanwhile, dropped in a best-ever 15 points while being more subtle, in a good way, defensively. The 2023 lottery pick nailed some massive jump shots early in the fourth quarter to expand Indiana's lead, and those proved to be vital. He's had quite the week.

"The rookies we have on our team are well beyond their years," McConnell said after the game.

The Pacers needed their young players to step up on Thursday night. They all did.

Poor free throw shooting doomed the Kings

Sacramento is the worst free throw shooting team in the league at 72.5%, and they are over 3% worse than the 26th ranked team in accuracy from the charity stripe. For reference, said 26th ranked team (Brooklyn) is within 3% of the team in 13th place when it comes to free throw percentage.

The Kings stink from the line, and it cost them last night. They were an atrocious 18/32 (56.3%) on freebies against the Pacers, leaving 14 points on the board in a five-point loss. Had they shot their typical percentage from the stripe, they would have likely won the game.

But they didn't. Indiana matched Sacramento in many ways during the game, but they separated themselves by knocking down foul shots. That's somewhat lucky for the Pacers, but they capitalized.

The Pacers veterans showed their experience

While the youngsters raising their level was the story of the game for Indiana, their vets had to be poised and effective in the absence of several key players.

They were terrific. McConnell started for the second time all season at point guard, and he finished with 20 points and 10 assists. His ability to put pressure on the rim helped the Pacers have a consistent offensive attack all night.

Myles Turner, the blue and gold's best available player, reached 18 points and got to the foul line often. He defended well, too, and did a good job making Domantas Sabonis' life difficult. While the Kings' All-NBA big man did have a triple double, it wasn't easy, and he defended poorly.

Turner had 11 points in the second half and was a key force behind the Pacers setting the tone in the third quarter. The final veteran for Indiana who suited up in this game, Buddy Hield, also got going in the third quarter and drilled two important threes.

Hield assumed backup floor general duties and finished with 12 points, a season-high eight assists, and five rebounds. He found a way to have a big impact even without being a shooter.

"Just everybody stepping up," Pacers assistant coach Jenny Boucek said of her team at halftime on the Bally Sports Indiana broadcast.

Indiana was shorthanded on Thursday, but their veterans were reliable and their inexperienced players stepped up. That's how they were able to take advantage of a Kings team that was miserable at the foul line. The Pacers will hope to keep up their good play tonight when they play in Portland — perhaps with more reinforcements.