Sacramento Kings guard Devin Carter. Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Tanks for nothing: Devin Carter's career game lifts Kings over Pacers

By Sean Keane | Last updated Mar 11, 2026 8:43 AM ET

The Sacramento Kings got a huge fourth quarter out of 2024 lottery pick Devin Carter Tuesday. Unfortunately, it happened in a game the Kings might have rather lost.

Carter scored a career-high 24 points in a 114-109 win over the Indiana Pacers, scoring 22 of those points in the 4th quarter as the Kings made up a 10-point deficit. The win moved the Kings a half-game ahead of the Pacers, who now have the worst record in the NBA — and the best draft lottery position.

Devin Carter had the best quarter of his NBA career

The Kings drafted Carter with the No. 13 pick in the 2024 draft after his career at Providence, but he missed the first 34 games of his rookie season after he had shoulder surgery. Before this season, the Kings signed veteran point guards Dennis Schroder and Russell Westbrook — not a sign of confidence in their young guard.

New Kings general manager Scott Perry didn't draft Carter, so he may not have been invested in the 23-year-old guard. From Nov. 13 to Jan. 24, Carter appeared in just four games. Schroder and Keon Ellis were sent to Cleveland at the trade deadline, but Carter remains behind Westbrook and 2020 lottery pick Killian Hayes, signed two weeks ago.

Carter hasn't shot well, going 22.7 percent from behind the arc in his career. That changed in the fourth quarter, where Carter shot 8-for-11 overall and 3-for-4 from deep, after making only nine threes all season.

DEVIN CARTER HAS 20 IN THE FOURTH pic.twitter.com/W0IUxnU8rP
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) March 11, 2026

Sacramento Kings comeback may have come from lack of faith in Devin Carter

Tuesday was absolutely a feel-good story for a disappointing draft pick, but Carter's usage Tuesday suggested the Kings actually don't believe in their young guard. Sacramento was down 10 points going into the fourth quarter, but they sat three of their starters for the entire period.

With the Kings and Pacers racing to the bottom of the league, playing Carter for 12 minutes — he'd logged just four minutes before then — might indicate the Kings actually hoped Carter would help them lose. Unfortunately for Sacramento's lottery odds, Carter played incredibly, scoring 13 straight Kings points in a stretch of 2:30 that sealed the game.

It also may have sealed pole position for the Pacers, losers of 10 straight, in the competition for the NBA's worst record. A strong performance from a former lottery pick delivered a hit to his team's lottery chances this year.

Sean Keane

Sean Keane is a sportswriter and a comedian based in Oakland, California, with experience covering the NBA, MLB, NFL and Ice Cube’s three-on-three basketball league, The Big 3. He’s written for Comedy Central’s “Another Period,” ESPN the Magazine, and Audible. com

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