First Thoughts: Suns 124, Pacers 100
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Editor
First thoughts after the Indiana Pacers were blown out by the Phoenix Suns 124-100 on Wednesday night at the US Airways Center:
IN A NUTSHELL: Gerald Green posted 23 points and six rebounds, while Miles Plumlee added 11 points and seven rebounds as they extracted some revenge for the Pacers trading them away over the summer. Goran Dragic added 21 points as the Suns put six players in double figures. Paul George scored a game-high 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting, but after a scorching first half (62 points on 22-of-40 shooting), Phoenix made 14 of 21 shots in the third quarter to keep the Pacers at arms’ length. It was a breathtaking display of execution against a struggling Indiana defense. Lance Stephenson (six points, five rebounds) was a team-worst minus-20 overall in plus/minus for Indiana. George Hill had another solid effort with 16 points on 4-of-4 shooting, while Luis Scola (acquired from Phoenix in the swap of Green and Plumlee) added five points and five rebounds off the bench. Indiana (33-8) concluded the first half of the season allowing their most points in a game thus far.
KEY SEQUENCE: The Suns were up 13 at halftime before scoring 10 of the game’s next 12 points on a burst that pretty much blew the game open. Everyone got involved for Phoenix on the run: After a Plumlee tip-in, a fadeaway from Dragic, an off-the-dribble jumper from Channing Frye, a Dragic pullup (off a lucky bounce off the glass), and a hook from P.J. Tucker (two of Phoenix’s 44 points in the paint), the Suns led 72-51 as Frank Vogel scrambled for a timeout with 8:54 to play in the third quarter. The Pacers never saw a deficit lower than 13 from that point.
BEST OF THE REST: The 62 points put up by the Suns in the first half are the most Indiana has allowed in any half all season. … Roy Hibbert and Green were part of a double-technical with 4:16 remaining in the first half after a mild encounter. … The Pacers swept the season series with Phoenix last season, although neither victory was convincing. … David West sprained his troublesome right hand in the first quarter but was able to return in the second. … Hill started despite a thigh bruise sustained on Monday in Golden State. … Hibbert fouled out with 6:34 remaining after an off night. He had just six points and was a non-factor on both ends.
WHAT WE LEARNED: After trailing by 24, Indiana got its deficit down to 13 early in the fourth frame (96-83), but the Suns quickly had that advantage back up to 22 soon thereafter. The Pacers really struggled. Aside from the win over the Warriors, that’s been the case lately on the road. Phoenix was playing without its best player, breakout star Eric Bledsoe, and this loss was hard to see coming. Suns coach Jeff Hornacek wanted to force the Pacers into switches and rotations defensively and his offense accomplished that blueprint. Indiana will take Thursday off before visiting Sacramento on Friday.
