INDIANAPOLIS, Nov. 10 -- Sarunas Marciulionis came off the bench in the second quarter Friday night to score 11 of his 13 points, sparking the Sacramento Kings to their franchise-record fifth straight victory to start the season, a 119-95 triumph over the Indiana Pacers in a game marred by a wild brawl in the third quarter. The Kings are off to their first-ever 5-0 start, bettering their 4-0 marks of 1952-53 and 1960-61, when they were the Cincinnati Royals. Indiana, 0-2 after opening the season with three straight wins, showed a lack of control for the second straight game. On Thursday, Coach Larry Brown was suspended for the game after getting ejected for arguing with the referees in New York Thursday night and forward Dale Davis did the honors against Sacramento. Friday night, with 2:43 left in the third quarter and the Kings comfortably ahead, Bobby Hurley drove the lane and was fouled hard by Davis. Hurley's teammate Michael Smith intervened and Davis responded in kind, touching off a bench-clearing melee that the replacement officials could not handle. 'The play was getting too physical on both sides of the floor,' Hurley said. 'The game was not in control in the second half.' Davis and Smith were ejected when order was restored, with Sacramento holding a 76-57 edge. 'We don't condone what went on with the altercation, but we're not gonna let it take anything away from the win,' Sacramento Coach Garry St. Jean said.
'It was a great road win for the Kings because of the respect we have for the Pacers.' Marciulionis capped an 8-0 run with a 17-foot jumper that gave the Kings a 50-29 advantage with 3:47 left in the second quarter. Byron Houston began the spurt with a layup and two free throws before Tyrone Corbin's layup made it 48-29. A 16-footer by Marciulionis with 1:19 left gave Sacramento a 24-point bulge, its biggest of the half. 'We can't blame anybody but ourselves,' said Pacers Assistant Coach Gar Heard, who led the team in Brown's absence. 'We're not playing good basketball.' Reggie Miller led Indiana with 19 points on 6-of-16 shooting. Davis had 12 points and five rebounds before being ejected, while Smith scored seven. 'We are letting teams do whatever they want to do,' said Miller. 'When games are called the way they were tonight, the frustration level goes up and things can get out of hand. We can't use that as an excuse. We just have to get back to the basics.' Walt Williams added 19 points and Hurley scored six points with eight assists for the Kings. Hurley distributed seven of his assists in the first half. 'I'm not an historian and I don't know the line, but that was one of the best games he (Hurley) has had as a pro,' St. Jean said. Mitch Richmond added 14 points for the Kings, who outshot the Pacers, 56.2 percent to 35.6 percent. The Kings beat the Pacers for the first time in eight meetings since Nov. 6, 1991. Sacramento had lost nine straight games at Indiana dating to Jan. 8, 1986, and has a three-game road winning streak for the first time since March 20-29, 1992.
