SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Paul George scored eight of his 36 points in overtime and the Indiana Pacers defeated the Sacramento Kings 116-111 on Friday night.
The Pacers overcame a 17-point deficit and rallied in the fourth quarter to tie the game. Indiana outscored the Kings 13-8 in overtime to avoid a rare two-game losing streak.
Marcus Thornton scored 42 points and hit seven 3-pointers for the Kings. Isaiah Thomas scored 38, tying a career high. The undermanned Kings played without injured leading scorers DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay.
Lance Stephenson had 24 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for Indiana. David West had 22 points and both Roy Hibbert and George Hill scored 10.
In overtime, West made a 3 and George dunked after a steal, putting Indiana up 110-106. George later added a corner jumper for a 114-111 lead. George stole the ball from Thomas with 12 seconds left and was fouled. George made two free throws for a 116-111 lead.
George made a 3 and was fouled by Derrick Williams with 15 seconds left in regulation. George made the free throw for the four-point play, tying the game at 103. Thomas missed a jumper in the closing seconds, sending the game into overtime.
Cousins sprained his left ankle in second quarter in Wednesday’s game in Houston and Gay went out in the opening quarter with an injury Achilles tendon. Both players are day-to-day.
The Pacers, who trailed by as much as 17 points, hardly resembled the NBA’s top defensive team in the opening half, allowing 60 points.
Indiana entered the game having allowed fewer than 100 points in only seven of 41 games, including 11 games of 80 points or less.
After the Pacers cut the lead to a basket, Thomas followed with a 3 and two free throws and Thornton dropped in a short jumper, putting the Kings ahead 93-86 midway through the third quarter.
Thornton, who has struggled all season offensively and entered the game shooting 36 percent, scored 22 points in an amazing first quarter. Thornton made 9-of-12 shots, including four 3-pointers in scoring the most points in a quarter this year for the Kings.
Thornton exceeded his season-high of 24 points late in the second quarter. On the Kings recent six-game road trip, Thornton had a 24 total points and shot 29 percent. In his last nine games as a starter Thornton had failed to score in double figures.
Hill scored 10 points and George had eight in the third quarter when the Pacers cut the Kings’ 10-point lead at intermission in half, pulling to within 84-79 entering the fourth. Thornton had 11 points in the third, but the Kings shot 31 percent.
Thornton had 26 points for the Kings, who surprisingly dominated the first half and led 60-50.
NOTES: The Kings became the first professional sports team to employ the new Google Glass technology. The Kings’ mascot (Slamson),dancers, sideline reporters and others closest to the court live-streamed their first-person views through Google Glass, allowing fans at the game, and viewing at home, to witness the courtside experience. . Former New York Mets manager Jerry Manuel was sitting courtside … Manuel, who lives in the Sacramento region, is helping start a baseball program at William Jessup University in nearby Rocklin. . George was called for a technical foul after time expired in the second quarter, while West and Hill drew technicals in the third quarter
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