Pacers Freefall Hits 10 As Kings Rip Heart Out In Sacramento

The Indiana Pacers are running out of ways to lose, and out of time to fix it. Their skid hit 10 straight Tuesday night in Sacramento, where a 20-point lead dissolved into a 114-109 loss to the Kings and a fresh gut punch to a season already on the brink. Aaron Nesmith dropped 29 in a valiant effort, but a furious fourth-quarter surge from Sacramento, punctuated by a late and-1 from rookie Maxime Raynaud, turned another winnable game into another entry in a growing nightmare.

Devin Carter's late explosion finishes comeback

For three quarters, the Pacers looked like the desperate team that understood the moment. Then Devin Carter happened.

The Kings guard erupted for 22 of his career-best 24 points in the fourth quarter, including a personal 13-0 run that erased Indiana's 20-point cushion and completely flipped the momentum. With the Pacers suddenly on their heels, Raynaud stepped in to close the deal, drilling an and-1 jumper with 16 seconds left that effectively finished off the comeback.

Raynaud wrapped the night with an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double while Sacramento shot 46 percent from the field and 35 percent from deep in the win. As KCRA reported, Carter's late burst and Raynaud's dagger were the clear turning points in a game Indiana once seemed to have in hand.

Nesmith's first-half burst could not hold

On the other side, Nesmith did everything he could to drag Indiana out of its spiral. He finished with 29 points, including a blistering 24 in the first half that helped the Pacers build a 59-42 lead at the break. For a while, it looked like the road losing streak might finally be over.

But with the offense thinning out after halftime, Sacramento slowly chipped away. Indiana was already shorthanded, with Pascal Siakam sidelined by a right knee sprain and Andrew Nembhard held out due to back and neck soreness, removing two key scoring options from coach Rick Carlisle's rotation. The full breakdown of the box score and absences is detailed by ESPN.

Where this leaves Indy

The defeat stretched Indiana's NBA-long losing streak to 10 games and dropped the Pacers to 15-50, a record that has them buried near the bottom of the league, according to CBS Sports. What once felt like a rough patch has turned into a season-defining collapse.

There is no time to dwell. The Pacers head home to host the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, a quick turnaround that will test whether this group has one more punch left before the final stretch of the season turns into a long walk to the lottery.