The Indiana Pacers (23-19) defeated the Phoenix Suns (13-30) 97-94 on Tuesday night.
In a game between two of the fastest-paced teams in the NBA, the offenses were downright ugly tonight. Indiana came into this game ticked off with their defensive form and it's clear they were letting out their frustrations on this beaten up Suns team. The Pacers held the Suns to just 35 percent shooting and drew 22 turnovers in a dominant defensive performance. The NBA has become a three-point shooting league, but these teams set the league back a few years by combining to go 15-for-55 from long range in this game. The aggressive nature of Indiana can be emphasized by the fact that they recorded 16 steals in the victory.
Indiana had lost four of their last five coming into this and a date with Phoenix is just what the doctor ordered. The Pacers didn’t play pretty basketball, but they got back to their roots and dominated with their stifling defense. The defensive total actually would have looked better if the Pacers didn’t allow 16 points in the final three minutes in a comeback effort. No player played spectacularly, but Paul George did put in a nice all-around game, as he tallied 19 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals in the win. Mighty Joe Young also gave the team a nice spark off the bench, as he finished with 11 points, three rebounds, five assists and two steals in just 19 minutes of action. Indiana will have to keep up this defensive form in their next game against the Golden State Warriors on Friday.
This Suns team has fallen apart over the last two months and it's quite clear that the offense is the main reason why. The amazing part about this game is that Phoenix shot 27-for-29 from the free-throw line and still barely cracked 90 points. That's simply hard to do and it shows how inefficient they are playing right now. The one bright spot here was rookie Devin Booker, who scored a career-high 32 points in a shooting exhibition. Markieff Morris finally seemed to be turning things around over the last few games, but he left here in the first quarter with a shoulder injury. That's the last thing this team needs, as the injuries are killing them right now. Brandon Knight really hurt his team tonight as well, as he went 2-for-9 from three-point range and committed a ghastly eight turnovers in the defeat. It doesn’t get much easier in their next game, as the Suns host the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday in what will likely be another lopsided result.
