Francisco Garcia added 16 points and Marcus Thornton recorded 15 points and nine boards for the Kings (19-52), who moved three games ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves (17-56) in the race to avoid the worst record in the West.
The Pacers (32-41) had their lead trimmed to two games over the Milwaukee Bucks (29-42) and the Charlotte Bobcats (29-42) -- both road winners Friday night in New York and Boston, respectively -- for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East.
The Kings made their move on the defensive end in the first half, holding Indiana to 25 percent (12 of 48) shooting from the field, including 1 of 9 from beyond the arc, to grab a 55-37 lead at the break.
The Pacers used an 11-0 burst in the third to cut the lead to 71-62 with 3:39 left in the frame, but Tyreke Evans, who was playing for the first time in 19 games after recovering from a foot injury, converted a three-point play to halt the run and push it back to double digits.
Danny Granger led the Pacers with 20 points.
Sacramento | Indiana | |
DeMarcus Cousins 18 | Scoring | Danny Granger 20 |
Tyreke Evans 8 | Assists | Darren Collison 3 |
DeMarcus Cousins 14 | Rebounds | Paul George 8 |
Samuel Dalembert 4 | Free Throws Made | Danny Granger 11 |
Francisco Garcia 4 | Steals | Jeff Foster 1 |
DeMarcus Cousins 3 | Blocks | Roy Hibbert 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Sacramento | 110 | 48.0 | 7-16 | 7-10 | 27 | 55 | 9 | 10 | 13 |
Indiana | 93 | 35.2 | 4-25 | 25-30 | 15 | 52 | 6 | 5 | 15 |