Indiana (26-36), trying to make the postseason for the first time in three years, is three games behind eighth-place Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference. The Pacers' strong play at home has helped keep them in contention.

Indiana improved to 19-11 at Conseco by beating Northwest Division-leading Denver 100-94 on Sunday night. It was the latest impressive home victory for the Pacers, who have also knocked off the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston, Cleveland and Orlando in Indianapolis. San Antonio is the only current division leader they've yet to beat.

The Pacers hosted the Kings (13-48) in the teams' first matchup of the season, a 122-117 Indiana win Jan. 3.

Indiana's play away from Conseco could prove to be the reason the Pacers miss the playoffs. They're 7-25 on the road, where they've lost to New York, Charlotte, Washington, Golden State and Memphis.

"I think we have a great fear of really getting embarrassed out there against some of these top teams," forward Troy Murphy said. "For whatever reason, against some of the teams that have a couple more losses, we play down to the level of the competition."

Murphy had 22 points and 18 rebounds against Denver for his seventh straight double-double. He's averaging 19.3 points and 15.4 boards in those games.

Jarrett Jack added 28 points and eight assists for Indiana. The fourth-year guard is averaging 20.0 points in his last nine games, shooting 45.5 percent (15-for-33) from 3-point range during that span.

"He's been huge, especially with all the injuries we've had," Murphy said. "He's a guy who's able to step in and play multiple positions, he gets the ball to the basket, he makes big assists and plays tough defense. He's been great for us all year, off the bench, starting. He does really whatever we need."

Jack had 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists in this season's first matchup with Sacramento.

The Kings lost that contest despite 45 points from Kevin Martin. He had 19 points against Utah on Saturday, but Sacramento fell 102-89 for its fourth loss in five games.

The following evening, Sacramento waived Drew Gooden to give the veteran forward a chance to join a contending team for the playoff run. The Kings made the move to save money, letting go of the best player acquired during a flurry of trade-deadline moves.

Forward Andres Nocioni, also obtained in the six-player deal with Chicago that netted Gooden, had five points and six rebounds off the bench against the Jazz.

Sacramento had dropped four straight at home before beating the Los Angeles Clippers 98-86 on Friday night. The Kings are 9-20 at Arco Arena, allowing 106.7 points per game.