March 4th, 2009 
Stephen Rhodes 
Posted in 
Apparently, the Indiana Pacers are making a sincere effort to try and catch the Milwaukee Bucks for the 8th playoff spot in the Eastern Conference; they would have that chance as they ventured to Arco Arena to take on the Sacramento Kings Tuesday night. The Pacers, without Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy, got their offensive production this night from Jarrett Jack and Troy Murphy as they combined for 49 points, leading Indiana to the tight 117-109 win over Sacramento.
Murphy had the Kings’ number in the first half as he had 20 points and 6 rebounds; factor in the Kings’ mediocre defensive effort and it would add up to a 65-51 lead for Indiana at halftime. T.J. Ford scored seven points in the third quarter for the Pacers, who would build up a 20-point lead and went into the final period leading 93-78.
Trailing by 15, Sacramento cut their deficit to 110-101 on a Rashad McCants layup with 2:45 left to go; after a timeout, Indiana’s Travis Diener drained a 3-pointer and Jack would follow that up with a pair of baskets, giving the Pacers an insurmountable 117-101 lead.
Indiana was led by Jack with 26 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals while Murphy added 23 (including 4 treys) with 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks; Marquis Daniels and Diener scored 18 each – with Daniels grabbing 4 rebounds, dishing out 4 assists along with 2 steals while Diener hit 5 three-pointers, grabbed a rebound, dished out 3 assists along with a pair of steals.
Sacramento’s high scorer was Kevin Martin with 21 points, 2 rebounds and a steal while McCants scored 20 (including 3 treys) with 4 rebounds, an assist and a steal; Spencer Hawes added 19 with 7 rebounds, 2 assists and a block. Indiana (27-36) plays again on Wednesday when they travel north to Portland to face the Trail Blazers while Sacramento (13-49) does not play again until Sunday when they host the Denver Nuggets.
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