AP, Indianapolis, Mar 26: DeMarcus Cousins had 18 points and 14 rebounds to help the Sacramento Kings beat the Indiana Pacers 110-93 on Friday night.
Samuel Dalembert had 16 points and 10 rebounds, Francisco Garcia scored 16 points and Marcus Thornton added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Kings, who have won four of their last seven.
Sacramento guard Tyreke Evans returned after missing 19 games with left foot plantar fasciitis and finished with six points and eight assists in 17 minutes.
Danny Granger led the Pacers with 20 points.
Indiana missed an opportunity to strengthen its grip on the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Pacers entered the contest with a three-game lead over Milwaukee and Charlotte.
Indiana shot 35 percent from the field and made just 4 of 25 3-point attempts against the Kings, who have the fourth-worst record in the league. The Pacers were coming off road wins against New Jersey and Charlotte and had won five of seven.
The game was competitive before Sacramento took control in the second quarter. A three-point play by Garcia gave the Kings a 47-30 lead.
The Kings outrebounded the Pacers 38-23 in the first half and held Indiana to 25 percent shooting to take 55-37 lead at halftime. Cousins had 12 points and 10 rebounds before the break.
The Kings led 65-46 when Garcia was called for a technical foul for arguing with an official. Granger, who had been held in check by Garcia up to that point, immediately became a factor. He hit a 3-pointer to ignite a 16-6 surge that cut Sacramento's lead to 71-62 and forced the Kings to call a timeout.
The Kings regrouped and led 85-68 at the end of the quarter.
Indiana made a final surge. Paul George's dunk cut Sacramento's lead to 99-86 with 3:47 to play, but back-to-back turnovers by the Pacers led to baskets by the Kings and ended the threat.
