There is no figuring out the 2020-21 Sacramento Kings.
After a complete roller-coaster ride of a season, the team is heating up down the stretch. Despite playing short-handed and on the second night of a back-to-back, the Kings were the aggressors once again and the Indiana Pacers had no answer.
Led by an incredible breakout performance from Marvin Bagley, the Kings jumped all over the Pacers early, pulling away for a 104-93 victory to finish the road trip at 4-0.
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Domantas Sabonis stuffed the stat sheet for the Pacers, but Indiana is spinning out late in the season.
Here are three takeaways as the Kings come away with another big time win to move to 29-37 on the season.
In the Bag
There is something to be said about fresh legs. After missing a long stretch of games, Bagley looks as good as he has at any point in his three years in the NBA.
Against the Pacers, he was dominant from the opening tip and Indiana had no answer for the 6-foot-11 power forward.
Bagley scored 24 of his season-high 31 points in a wild first half. He shot an impressive 13-for-22 from the field and chipped in 12 rebounds for his 11th double-double of the season.
The outline of who and what Bagley can be as a player is impressive, but injuries have slowed his progress. He has six more games to build some momentum heading into what should be a very important summer for the 22-year-old big.
NBA
Pick their pocket
Delon Wright was a game-changer in each of his last two games for the Kings and he made it three straight Wednesday against the Pacers. Starting at the point after both De’Aaron Fox (health and safety protocols) and Tyrese Haliburton (left knee) went out, Wright went to work in the Kings’ win at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Wright was good on the offensive end, but he was a menace on defense. The veteran guard set a new career high with six steals. He was all over the court, playing the passing lanes and getting his team out in transition.
In his second straight start, Wright dropped in 23 points, six assists and seven rebounds to go with the stack of steals.
More than a shooter
After dropping in a solid double-double against the Thunder, Buddy Hield decided to fill out a few other stat categories against Indiana.
Hield knocked down a few triples, like he does every game, but he also found ways to set up his teammates for highlight reel dunks.
Sacramento’s starting shooting guard finished the night with four 3-pointers en route to 16 points, nine rebounds and a season-high eight assists.