NBA India Games 2019: Indiana Pacers vs Sacramento Kings

The Indiana Pacers beat the Sacramento Kings 130-106 in the second game of the two preseason clashes at the NSCI Dome, Mumbai. In attendance were several Bollywood celebrities such as Priyanka Chopra, Parineeti Chopra, Richa Chadda, Rannvijay Singh, Farhan Akhtar, and Shibani Dandekar.

This win comes in the backdrop of a hard-fought 132-131 Pacers win on October 4th, in what was a thrilling game with playoff-like intensity. As a result, the Pacers ended up sweeping the two-game preseason series in India against the Kings.

Let's draw out some key takeaways from what was a rather one-sided affair to wrap up the NBA India games 2019.

#1 Game 2 was nowhere near the bar set yesterday by the two teams

It has been outlined repeatedly that there couldn't have been a better tip-off to the NBA matchups in India than how the Pacers-Kings bout ended up giving us yesterday. A preseason game played with playoff-like intensity is something that nobody expects at first glance. However, it raised the bar way too high for the following day. And much to the dismay of the attending fans, it was a relatively dull set of 48 minutes when stacked against the thrilling Game 1.

Most of the second half was played out by the benchwarmers, as the stars took some much-needed rest towards the end of what turned out to be back-to-back nights of strenuous overseas basketball.

The fatigue from the draining Game 1 was visible when the players missed routine plays and committed clumsy fouls at regular intervals. Moreover, once Indiana crept away with the game, there was no genuine effort from Luke Walton's camp to make a run for it.

As a result, the high-flying dunks and nail-biting clutch moments that represented Game 1, were nowhere to be seen. The second units of both the teams ran set plays and went to the line more frequently, courtesy of some harsh whistling by the refs on the court.

#2 The Pacers are way better than we thought

Indiana possess the depth to make it big in the long run.

In the absence of Victor Oladipo, everybody was quick to count this side out. Even when they were trailing by 21 points in the first game, nobody believed a mighty resurgence was in store. Yet, they fly out of India with a couple of preseason wins and tons of confidence.

Indiana shot over 51% from three-point land in this game and over 52% overall from the field. Adding to their shooting spectacle was their free-throw efficiency, having made 17-of-18 where Sacramento missed nine freebies to their dismay.

Moreover, they outrebounded the Kings 51-35 and registered a mammoth total of 60 points in the paint in comparison to their opponent's 28 for the night. They led by as many as 30 points during the game after being down by 5 in the first period and showcased elite resilience as a collective unit.

#3 Sacramento need to tighten up their core and spread the load, bright spots for Indiana all over

$3 $3

The Kings' offense was all over the place. Marvin Bagley III had a rather forgettable night of 5-of-12 shooting, including multiple sloppy plays beneath the rim. De'Aaron Fox's impact on the ball-game was uncharacteristically negligible as he finished with 10 points, having made just one field-goal throughout the night. Buddy Hield shot 3-of-9 from deep for 17 points but could not do enough to carry his side through for a win.

The Pacers shared the ball and spread the floor consistently, making it tedious for Sacramento to keep track of perimeter shooters. Moreover, another promising prospect emerged in the form of backup point guard Edmond Sumner, who contributed 10 points (on 5-of-7 shooting) including a runaway layup in less than four seconds to close the first half.

The Indiana bench combined for 91 points in Game 2 and carried their team to a convincing win, and at the same time opened up multiple avenues for Coach McMillan through the season.