Indiana Pacers fall to Phoenix Suns for third straight loss
The Indiana Pacers dropped their third straight game on Friday night as the Phoenix Suns came to Indianapolis and crushed the Pacers from start to finish. Indiana never led.
The Pacers are in a massive rut. They have been playing poor basketball of late and have lost 14 of their last 16 games, a stretch that spans over a month. The team was without All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton for much of that stretch, but they are 1-4 since his return and don't look like the same team of late. The Pacers need a jolt.
"Not any one thing, but... rebounding has been a challenge for us all year long," head coach Rick Carlisle said when asked if there is any one thing that he feels like is leading to the Pacers' struggles. Center Myles Turner agreed, to an extent. He believes that the team just needs to play harder.
Both of those issues were on display in the game against Phoenix. Indiana came out looking slow and disengaged, and they were down by as much as 14 in the first quarter. The hard play didn't start until nearly 10 minutes of the game had passed by.
The Pacers went on a little run from that point until about the middle of the second quarter, but the Suns closed the first half strong and led by 13 points at halftime. The game didn't feel that close.
"They came out here with energy. They played hard, and I feel like the main thing we have to take from them is there energy." rookie guard Bennedict Mathurin said after the game.
The Pacers lost the rebounding battle in the first half 29-16, which is the exact issue Carlisle noted for this group. Despite the Pacers taking more free throws and having fewer turnovers, they ended up taking less shots in the first half than the Suns because they were crushed on the glass. The more talented team had more chances.
Not much changed in the second half. The Suns saw their lead climb over 20 in the third quarter, and it wasn't until the scoring margin was over 25 that the Pacers finally went on a spirited run. They ended up falling by 13 points.
In the end, Phoenix grabbed 53 rebounds to Indiana's 38. The Suns shot 4% better from the field and had eight more shot attempts. The Pacers had a thin margin for error thanks to their talent deficit, but they stood no chance once they started giving the Suns extra opportunities.
"Hustle plays, offensive rebounds. They kicked our ass on the glass. I think they kind of took us out of our style of play," Turner said of the Pacers' difficulties all night.
The final score was 117-104. The Pacers have not scored more than 111 points in any of their last seven games. While the team has been poor defensively for much of the season, their offense has floundered recently.
"They're a tough team," Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said of the Suns. He finished with 18 points and five assists. "I thought they did some really good things to our defense."
The Pacers are now 25-32 and are 1.5 games out of the play-in tournament. They sit 12th in the Eastern Conference and are just as close to the 13th seed as they are to 10th. Indiana's descent down the standings has been fast, and they need some wins in their three games before the All-Star break.
Bennedict Mathurin was the only Pacer to play more than 30 minutes in the game, and he finished with a team-high 22 points. His burst and finishing were solid for much of the outing. Buddy Hield added 14 points while Andrew Nembhard tossed 10 assists.
Reserve big man Isaiah Jackson stole the show down the stretch for the Pacers. He played the entire fourth quarter and finished with 14 points and five rebounds on 5/6 shooting. Carlisle and the Pacers need to find more minutes for the young big man.
Indiana will try to get back on track in Washington against the Wizards on Saturday night.
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