Tankathon win? Pacers blow 20-point lead in loss to Kings, now hold NBA’s worst record

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Mar 10, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Precious Achiuwa (9) is fouled by Indiana Pacers guard Kam Jones (7) during the first quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

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Mar 10, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard DeMar DeRozan (10) is fouled by Indiana Pacers forward Jarace Walker (5) during the first quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

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Mar 10, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings center Maxime Raynaud (42) drives to the basket past Indiana Pacers forward Jarace Walker (5) during the first quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

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Mar 10, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Indiana Pacers center Micah Potter (11) warms up before the game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

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Mar 10, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Obi Toppin (1) warms up before the game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

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Mar 10, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Russell Westbrook (18) drives to the basket against Indiana Pacers guard Kam Jones (7) during the first quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

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Mar 10, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Nique Clifford (5) passes the ball against the Indiana Pacers during the first quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

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Mar 10, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Russell Westbrook (18) scores a basket during the first quarter against the Indiana Pacers at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

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SACRAMENTO, CA — Point guard Devin Carter scored 24 points, all of them in the second half, to lead the Kings to a comeback from a 20-point deficit to beat the Pacers 114-109 at the Golden 1 Center on Tuesday night in a game between the teams with the worst records in each of the NBA’s conferences..

The Pacers have lost 10 straight and with the defeat now have the worst record in the NBA as well as the Eastern Conference at 15-50. With their loss and the Charlotte Hornets’ win, they are 17 1/2 games back of 10th place and the final play-in position with 17 games to go on their schedule, meaning they are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. The Kings improved to 16-50 but still sit in last place in the Western Conference.

Center Maxime Raynaud added 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Kings. Russell Westbrook scored 16 points, dished out nine assists and grabbed seven rebounds. Wings Nique Clifford and DeMar DeRozan scored 12 points each. Forward Aaron Nesmith scored 29 points to lead the Pacers. Forward Obi Toppin scored 17 points. Guard Kam Jones added 14 points and nine assists.

Here are three observations.

Pacers blow 20-point lead in second half

The Pacers were firmly in control of this contest between last place teams in the third quarter — holding a lead as great as 20 points — when they went to their bench and put Quenton Jackson, Taelon Peter, Jalen Swanson, Kobe Brown and Micah Potter on the floor. And from there the bottom fell out and the Pacers saw a winnable game slip away. Or they took a loss that very much helps their lottery cause, whatever your perspective may be.

The Pacers were outscored 30-23 in the third quarter and then 42-27 in the fourth for a total second half score of 72-50. They made just 18 of 49 field goals after the break including 7 of 25 3-pointers while the Kings shot 58.5% from the floor and hit 5 of 7 3-pointers. Kings point guard Devin Carter was unstoppable after the break, scoring 24 points on 9 of 13 shooting including 3 of 4 from 3. All of his points came in the second half.

The Pacers were up 78-58 with 4:58 to go in the third quarter. They didn’t score another field goal in the period and were outscored 14-4 the rest of the quarter. The Kings scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to make it a 19-4 run before the Pacers broke their drought with a Micah Potter three-point play, but the Kings kept pushing and took a lead on a 3-pointer by Carter with 4:16 to play. Carter went on a 10-2 run all by himself from the 3:47 mark to the 1:46 mark, putting the Kings up 109-103 and the Pacers never got closer than three points after that.

Aaron Nesmith gets his shot back

Aaron Nesmith has fought through a variety of injuries this year and changes in role and it’s been difficult for him to find much of a rhythm. He’s had some hot stretches but also some brutal slumps and he was in the middle of one of the latter going into Tuesday night’s game. He’d played just four games since the All-Star break and hadn’t scored in double figures in any of them, scoring a total of 21 points in those games on 8 of 27 shooting including 2 of 15 from 3-point range. On the season, he was shooting 38.3% from the floor and 35.5% from 3-point range, though his 12.6 points per game in 36 outings actually represent a career-high.

Against the Kings on Tuesday with Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard and T.J. McConnell out, Nesmith got a lot of offensive opportunities and he made the most of those. He scored 24 points in the first half alone — the most he’s had in a game since Jan. 4 when he had 25 against the Magic. He had a rough second half but still managed five points and finished with 29 points on 10 of 22 shooting including 2 of 7 from 3-point range.

Obi Toppin has best night since return

Rick Carlisle has been slow to extend Obi Toppin’s minutes since his return from a stress fracture in his right foot. He hadn’t played more than 11:10 in any of his first five games and hadn’t scored more than four points.

But with Siakam and Nembhard out somebody had to take shots and beyond Nesmith, it was mostly Toppin and Jarace Walker. Toppin played 14:42, getting second-half minutes for once, and he scored 17 points on 4 of 9 shooting including 2 of 5 from 3-point range and 7 of 9 free throws. He also grabbed five rebounds and the Pacers were +1 in his minutes.

Dustin Dopirak covers the Pacers all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Pacers Insider newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers vs Kings score today, Aaron Nesmith game stats, NBA record after loss

Tankathon win? Pacers blow 20-point lead in loss to Kings, now hold NBA’s worst record

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