The Indiana Pacers will travel to Sacramento, California to face the Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Center on Thursday night with the game tipping off at 10:00 PM ET and will air on Bally Sports Indiana.

Indiana has been one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference this season as they enter this matchup in 6^th place in the conference with a record of 23-17, however, they are on a two-game losing streak which includes a 105-132 loss on the road against the Utah Jazz on Monday. The absence of Tyrese Haliburton has hurt the team as they have only averaged 113 points per game in the last four games that Haliburton has missed which is well below their season average of 125.2 points per game and Haliburton is not expected to be back in the lineup until the 25^th with a hamstring injury. 

However, the Pacers are averaging the 2^nd most points per game this season with an average of 125.2 points per game, however, they have been one of the worst defensive teams in the league as they are allowing the 3^rd most points per game with an average of 123.44 points allowed per game. The Indiana Pacers will look to end their two-game losing streak when they travel to face the Sacramento Kings.

The Sacramento Kings enter this game with the 7^th best record in the Western Conference at 23-17, however, they are on a three-game losing streak following a 117-119 loss on the road against the Phoenix Suns, a game they led 112-94 with 6:14 left in the 4^th quarter before only scoring five more points the rest of the game. 

The success for Sacramento this season can be attributed to their offensive play as they enter this game averaging the 8^th most points per game with an average of 118.18 points per game, however, they have been a below-average team defensively as they are allowing an average of 117.78 points per game which is more than the league average of 115.58 points per game. Domantas Sabonis enters this game averaging a double-double with 20.1 points and 12.7 rebounds per game while also leading the team in assists with an average of 7.9 assists per game. The Sacramento Kings will look to end their three-game losing streak when they host the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night.

BookMaker has the Sacramento Kings listed as 8.5-point favorites at home against the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night. The teams are 5-5 in the last ten while Sacramento has won two of the previous three meetings. The Kings are 6-4 ATS in the last ten and have covered the spread in two of the previous three games in the series. The Indiana Pacers are 23-17-1 ATS overall, 10-8 ATS on the road, and 13-10 ATS as an underdog this season while the Sacramento Kings are 22-18 ATS overall, 9-11 ATS at home, and 14-15 ATS as a favorite on the year.

Both teams enter this game with an identical record of 23-17, however, Sacramento has been the better team most recently in the series, winning two of the last three contests. The Pacers have also struggled without Tyrese Haliburton in the lineup as they have gone from being the highest-scoring team to averaging 113 points per game without Haliburton in the lineup. I look for the absence of Haliburton to be a key factor in this matchup which is why I am buying the .5 point and laying the points with the Sacramento Kings when they host the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night.