National Basketball Association
Preview
Indiana at Sacramento
When: 6:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 22, 2024
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California

A rivalry created by a trade scripts a new chapter Sunday when Tyrese Haliburton returns to his old home with the Indiana Pacers to face Domantas Sabonis and the Sacramento Kings.

Haliburton played his first 109 games with the Kings and Sabonis 319 of his first 400 with the Pacers before they were the headliners in a blockbuster trade between the franchises on Feb. 8, 2022.

The Pacers also received Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson in the six-player swap. Along with Sabonis, the Kings imported Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb and a second-round pick.

Haliburton has played four times against the Kings since the trade, making just one return visit. That came on Nov. 30, 2022, when he had nine points and 10 assists in a loss.

Haliburton, the No. 12 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft by the Kings, has gone 1-3 against Sacramento since the deal.

Sabonis also has faced his former team four times since the trade, going 2-2. He put up a triple-double with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in the Pacers' visit last season, a 126-121 Indiana win accomplished without Haliburton, who sat out because of a strained left hamstring.

Both players enter the encounter in top form, but only one team does.

Haliburton has recorded three consecutive double-doubles, leading Indiana to wins over the Philadelphia 76ers, New Orleans Pelicans and Phoenix Suns.

He took only 3-pointers in Indiana's most recent success, going 4 for 9 in a 120-111 win at Phoenix on Thursday. He noted afterward that he's not the reason for the club's recent upward trend.

The Pacers have seen the returns of Andrew Nembhard and Ben Sheppard from injuries recently, leaving them just one key player (Aaron Nesmith) from being at full strength.

"They're two of our best on-ball defenders," Haliburton said of Nembhard and Sheppard. "People are pretending like we're not missing anybody. It's good to get our guys back. I can't wait to get Double-A (Nesmith) back, keep adding to our depth and being ready to go."

Nembhard contributed 17 and 19 points to the Pacers' past two wins, while Sheppard returned at Phoenix to record a plus-11 rating in 16 minutes off the bench.

Sabonis has put up seven straight double-doubles, but the last three couldn't prevent a loss to the Denver Nuggets and a pair of defeats at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers.

De'Aaron Fox scored 29, 26 and 31 points as the Kings have lost by a total of just 18 points during their losing streak. He said he and his teammates can play a little more free against the Pacers.

"At some point, we have to find a sense of enjoyment playing the game," Fox said. "Obviously, we all want to win. Everybody needs to do whatever it takes to win. At some point, you have to have enjoyment playing. You enjoy playing with each other, you enjoy going out there and doing the hard things and then comes winning."

-Field Level Media

Stats and Records
Team Comparison
  W/L Strk Home Away Day Night Div Conf
Indiana 13-15 W3 8-4 5-11 4-3 9-12 2-2 8-12
Sacramento 13-16 L3 6-10 7-6 0-1 13-15 2-5 10-13
Last Meeting
Indiana Sacramento
Date Away Home Pts Reb FG% Pts Reb FG%
2/2/24 SAC 133 IND 122 122 39 54.1 133 38 56.7
Player Stats
Previous Matchup
Points Player Total FG% FTM
Indiana B. Mathurin 31 71.4 9
Sacramento D. Sabonis 26 64.3 8
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
Indiana I. Jackson 8 2 6
Sacramento D. Sabonis 11 3 8
Assists Player  
Indiana T. McConnell 7
Sacramento D. Sabonis 7
Season
Points Player Total FG% FTM
Indiana P. Siakam 591 52.2 81
Sacramento D. Fox 827 48.4 146
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
Indiana P. Siakam 205 51 154
Sacramento D. Sabonis 413 110 303
Assists Player  
Indiana T. Haliburton 256
Sacramento D. Sabonis 193
Quickchart Matchup
Indiana Indiana Off vs  Sacramento Sacramento Defense
Indiana Off vs Sacramento - Points For 114.6 Points For
Indiana Off vs Sacramento - Points Against 113.3 Points Against
Indiana - FG% 48.7 FG%
Sacramento - FG% 46.0 FG%
Indiana - Reb 40.1 Reb
Sacramento - Reb 42.9 Reb
Sacramento Sacramento Off vs  Indiana Indiana Defense
Sacramento Off vs Indiana - Points For 115.5 Points For
Sacramento Off vs Indiana - Points Against 117.0 Points Against
Sacramento - FG% 48.0 FG%
Indiana - FG% 48.1 FG%
Sacramento - Reb 43.4 Reb
Indiana - Reb 43.8 Reb