Game Recap: Devin Booker injury compounds Suns’ struggles in 120-111 loss to Indiana

The Suns welcome back Beal, lose Booker, and get annihilated by the Pacers.

The Phoenix Suns fell to the Indiana Pacers, 120-111, in a lackluster showing. To make matters worse, Devin Booker left the game with groin tightness. The team’s ongoing struggles with low effort, turnovers, and poor execution were on full display.

After failing to match the Pacers’ hot shooting from beyond the arc in the first half, the Suns struggled in the second half to slow down anything coming into the lane.

Turnovers killed the Suns as well. Turning the ball over at will led to the Pacers taking an 18-point lead in the second half and never looking back. And worse of all, Bradley Beal did return, but Devin Booker left in the third quarter with groin tightness.

Things always seem to be getting worse in Phoenix, and tonight’s loss to the Pacers proves that changes might need to come quickly for things to improve.

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Game Flow

First Half

Before you knew it, the Suns jumped out to a 17-10 lead, orchestrated by Devin Booker and Tyus Jones, who moved the ball effectively and racked up six assists within the first five minutes of the game. Booker also led all scorers with six points, and the Suns’ ball movement was nearly flawless, consistently finding cutters to the rim—like the pass from Booker to Kevin Durant shown below.

After a timeout by the Pacers, the comeback began as they knocked down a couple of threes to get back into the game and eventually took the lead from the Suns. With five minutes left in the first quarter, the Pacers surged ahead to a 21-17 lead. At this point in the game, they were shooting 5-for-9 from beyond the arc, keeping things competitive.

The Pacers capitalized on the Suns’ turnovers to close out the first quarter, scoring seven points off four takeaways. Oso Ighodaro contributed to a few of those mishaps, often finding himself out of position and costing the Suns valuable possessions needed to stay in the game.

After the first quarter, Devin Booker kept the Suns within striking distance of the Pacers with 12 points, leaving them trailing by just three, 32-29.

The trend of teams finding success from beyond the arc continued, as the Pacers hit eight of their first 14 three-point attempts to start the game. Building a 38-33 lead over the Suns early in the second quarter, the Pacers leaned heavily on the three-ball—and it was paying off.

Jusuf Nurkic returned in the second quarter and immediately made his presence felt, bruising his way to a few tough buckets to keep the Suns within striking distance.

With four minutes left in the first half, the Suns dominated the paint but struggled to match the Pacers’ efficiency from beyond the arc while continuing to turn the ball over far too often. The Suns’ 10 turnovers led to 18 points for the Pacers, who also drained a commanding nine three-pointers. As a result, the Pacers held a 54-47 lead, silencing the crowd.

Things were getting heated with Coach Bud wanting foul calls.

Royce O’Neale closed the half with a clutch three-pointer, bringing the Suns within one point at halftime, 60-59.

Second Half

Another turnover by the Suns led to yet another three-pointer from the Pacers, extending their lead to 71-64. The Pacers showed no signs of slowing down, determined to stay competitive by continuing to launch from beyond the arc.

It wasn’t easy for the Suns. Even as they attempted to bring the ball up, the Pacers applied full-court pressure, knowing that forcing a few more miscues could push their lead into double digits.

And that’s exactly what happened. After Nurkic missed a corner three, the Pacers extended their lead to a game-high 11 points by knocking down another three. To start the second half, the Pacers were 5-for-7 from beyond the arc, getting wide-open looks and capitalizing on them.

Struggling to stay in the game, the Suns couldn’t even get help from the referees. The Pacers attempted 12 free throws before the Suns could even shoot their fourth. While it’s never ideal to blame the refs, the Suns were clearly grasping at straws in the third quarter, trying to get anything going.

Trailing entering the fourth quarter, there wasn’t anything to celebrate. It was a Suns team that gave up from the beginning of the fourth quarter and struggled to hold down the paint. The Suns gave up eight straight points around the basket and things were taking a turn for the worse.

Without Booker returning to the game due to a tight groin, the Suns got a little bit of a lift from a dunk from Grayson Allen, closing the gap to 11 points with seven minutes left in the game.

Even Allen couldn’t save the Suns from throwing the game away. The Suns looked beaten down and unable to find their footing. Their mental state was defeated and losing another game at home with a healthy team, minus the Booker injury, is a cause for concern.

The Suns lose, 120-111

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Up Next

Up next for the Suns, they will host the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night, alright?