No one can accuse Devin Carter of tanking.
The second-year guard from Providence had a huge fourth quarter to help the Sacramento Kings rally for a 114-109 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Thursday before a crowd of 14,618 at Golden 1 Center.
Carter scored 22 points in the fourth quarter as the Kings came back to win after trailing by as many as 20 points in the second half. Carter, who did not play in the first half, finished with a career-high 24 points, five rebounds and three assists in 16 minutes after going 9 of 13 from the field and 3 of 4 from 3-point range.
“It felt great, especially my teammates trusting me, putting the ball in my hands,” Carter said. “They set me up for success, so it felt great.”
Carter has been in and out of coach Doug Christie rotation this season, appearing in only 26 games. He came into the game averaging 6.5 points on 37.1% shooting in 14.2 minutes per contest.
“I haven’t been in the rotation much, so I wasn’t expecting too much,” Carter said. “Just trying to put my work in and stay ready.”
Rookie center Maxime Raynaud had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Kings (16-50), who have won back-to-back games after beating the Chicago Bulls on Sunday.
Russell Westbrook had 16 points, seven rebounds and nine assists for the Kings, who no longer have the worst record in the league. DeMar DeRozan and Nique Clifford scored 12 points apiece.
Aaron Nesmith scored 29 points for the Pacers (15-50), who had lost nine in a row and 13 of 15. Obi Toppin had 17 points. Kam Jones had 14.
Carter, who came out of Providence as the 13th pick in the 2024 NBA draft, admitted it has been difficult dealing with an inconsistent role.
“It’s definitely not easy, but everything happens for a reason,” Carter said. “Just trust God and trust His plans. Glad I got an opportunity tonight and, more importantly, glad we got the dub.”
Christie said he was proud of Carter, who was limited to 36 games as a rookie after undergoing shoulder surgery.
“You try to pour in and love on all of them,” Christie said. “It doesn’t go exactly how everybody wants it to all the time. You just have to stay ready, and that’s all to Devin’s credit. That’s him staying ready, being aggressive, being confident and, at the same time, playing team basketball.”
The Kings trailed 25-24 at the end of the first quarter. They were down 59-42 at the halftime break after getting outscored 34-18 in the second quarter.
The Pacers led 78-58 with 4:58 to play in the third quarter. The Kings were down by 17 when Carter entered the game for the first time with 4:15 to play in the third.
The Kings trailed by 12 entering the fourth quarter. They cut the deficit to six on a putback by Carter with 11:26 remaining and took a 99-98 lead on a 3-pointer by Carter with 4:16 to go.
Raynaud said he was happy to see Carter make the most of his opportunity.
“It was awesome,” Raynaud said. “I’m super, super happy for him. It shows how much confidence he has in himself, coming in after not playing, playing a little bit here and there. Getting 24 points in 16 minutes, it’s really amazing, so I’m really happy for him.”
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Jason Anderson is The Sacramento Bee’s Kings beat writer. He is a Sacramento native and a graduate of Fresno State, where he studied journalism and college basketball under the late Jerry Tarkanian.