Game ID: 22300636
Phoenix Suns @ Indiana Pacers
Friday, January 26, 2024 at 7:00 PM ET
Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
IND 31 39 35 28 133PHX 40 40 34 17 131
IND vs PHX ScoutingIND vs PHX Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
IND availability going into 1/19 · back-to-backOUT Haliburton missed 5 since 1/10, returns tonight: 35 min (107% of 33)
OUT Nesmith missed 3 since 1/14, returns tonight: 28 min (98% of 29)
BACK Sheppard back 1/12 after 2, 19 min since (123% of 16)
NEW Smith 16 to 22 min over the last 4
IND availability going into 1/21 · 1 day's restOUT Nembhard missed 2 since 1/18, returns tonight: 25 min (96% of 26)
BACK Haliburton back 1/19 after 5, 35 min since (107% of 33)
BACK Nesmith back 1/19 after 3, 28 min since (98% of 29)
BACK Sheppard back 1/12 after 2, 17 min since (110% of 16)
IND availability going into 1/23 · 1 day's restOUT Jackson missed 2 since 1/19, returns tonight: 10 min (75% of 13)
BACK Haliburton back 1/19 after 5, 35 min since (107% of 33)
BACK Nesmith back 1/19 after 3, 27 min since (94% of 29)
BACK Nembhard back 1/21 after 2, 25 min since (96% of 26)
NEW Hield 26 to 31 min over the last 5
NEW Sheppard 16 to 21 min over the last 4
IND availability going into 1/25 · 1 day's restOUT Haliburton missed 2 since 1/21, out tonight
BACK Nesmith back 1/19 after 3, 29 min since (102% of 29)
BACK Nembhard back 1/21 after 2, 26 min since (99% of 26)
BACK Jackson back 1/23 after 2, 10 min since (75% of 13)
IND availability going into 1/26 · back-to-backOUT Haliburton missed 3 since 1/21, out tonight
BACK Nesmith back 1/19 after 3, 29 min since (101% of 29)
BACK Nembhard back 1/21 after 2, 27 min since (102% of 26)
BACK Jackson back 1/23 after 2, 7 min since (59% of 13)
IND availability going into 1/28 · 1 day's restOUT Haliburton missed 4 since 1/21, out tonight
BACK Nesmith back 1/19 after 3, 30 min since (105% of 29)
BACK Nembhard back 1/21 after 2, 28 min since (105% of 26)
BACK Jackson back 1/23 after 2, 7 min since (59% of 13)
IND availability going into 1/30 · 1 day's restOUT Haliburton missed 5 since 1/21, returns tonight: 22 min (68% of 33)
BACK Nembhard back 1/21 after 2, 30 min since (112% of 26)
BACK Jackson back 1/23 after 2, 10 min since (76% of 13)
IND availability going into 2/01 · 1 day's restOUT McConnell missed 2 since 1/28, out tonight
BACK Haliburton back 1/30 after 5, 22 min since (68% of 33)
BACK Jackson back 1/23 after 2, 10 min since (76% of 13)
NEW Nesmith 29 to 35 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 2/02 · back-to-backOUT Mathurin missed 2 since 1/30, returns tonight: 37 min (142% of 26)
OUT McConnell missed 3 since 1/28, returns tonight: 23 min (123% of 19)
OUT Jackson missed 2 since 1/30, returns tonight: 27 min (214% of 13)
BACK Haliburton back 1/30 after 5, 22 min since (67% of 33)
NEW Nesmith 29 to 36 min over the last 5
PHX availability going into 1/19 · 2 days' restOUT Goodwin missed 2 since 1/14, returns tonight: 4 min (29% of 14)
OUT Watanabe missed 2 since 1/14, out tonight
OUT Bol missed 2 since 1/14, out tonight
BACK Durant back 1/07 after 3, 36 min since (96% of 38)
BACK Gordon back 1/08 after 2, 24 min since (86% of 28)
PHX availability going into 1/21 · 1 day's restOUT Watanabe missed 3 since 1/14, out tonight
OUT Bol missed 3 since 1/14, out tonight
BACK Gordon back 1/08 after 2, 24 min since (87% of 28)
BACK Goodwin back 1/19 after 2, 4 min since (29% of 14)
PHX availability going into 1/22 · back-to-backOUT Watanabe missed 4 since 1/14, out tonight
OUT Bol missed 4 since 1/14, out tonight
BACK Goodwin back 1/19 after 2, 4 min since (29% of 14)
PHX availability going into 1/24 · 1 day's restOUT Goodwin missed 2 since 1/21, returns tonight: 4 min (29% of 14)
OUT Watanabe missed 5 since 1/14, returns tonight: 7 min (55% of 13)
OUT Bol missed 5 since 1/14, out tonight
PHX availability going into 1/26 · 1 day's restOUT Gordon missed 2 since 1/22, returns tonight: 30 min (109% of 28)
OUT Bol missed 6 since 1/14, out tonight
BACK Goodwin back 1/19 after 2, 4 min since (29% of 14)
BACK Watanabe back 1/24 after 5, 7 min since (55% of 13)
PHX availability going into 1/28 · 1 day's restOUT Bol missed 7 since 1/14, out tonight
BACK Gordon back 1/26 after 2, 30 min since (109% of 28)
BACK Goodwin back 1/19 after 2, 4 min since (29% of 14)
BACK Watanabe back 1/24 after 5, 7 min since (55% of 13)
PHX availability going into 1/29 · back-to-backOUT Watanabe missed 2 since 1/26, out tonight
OUT Bol missed 8 since 1/14, out tonight
BACK Gordon back 1/26 after 2, 26 min since (94% of 28)
BACK Goodwin back 1/24 after 2, 3 min since (22% of 14)
PHX availability going into 1/31 · 1 day's restOUT Watanabe missed 3 since 1/26, returns tonight: 1 min (10% of 13)
OUT Bol missed 9 since 1/14, out tonight
BACK Gordon back 1/26 after 2, 29 min since (102% of 28)
BACK Goodwin back 1/24 after 2, 3 min since (22% of 14)
PHX availability going into 2/02 · 1 day's restOUT Bol missed 10 since 1/14, out tonight
BACK Gordon back 1/26 after 2, 29 min since (105% of 28)
BACK Goodwin back 1/24 after 2, 2 min since (18% of 14)
BACK Watanabe back 1/24 after 5, 4 min since (33% of 13)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 118, shooting 50 percent and 40 from three, 22 free throws a game; Turner at 20 and Siakam at 20 a game. Without Haliburton (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Phoenix comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 112, shooting 53 percent and 40 from three, 20 free throws a game; Booker at 31 and Durant at 30 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Without Gordon (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Phoenix has been plus-7 a night and Indiana plus-0 and the defense, Phoenix allowing 112 a night to Indiana's 118. Call it Phoenix 119, Indiana 118, Indiana keeping it close.
1/19 @ POR 115-118 — IND notes
IND lost 115-118. IND shot 43% (39 of 91) to POR's 50%, 20 of 47 from three, and got to the line 25 times to POR's 35. The glass went 37-47 against them. Turner led with 29 (10 of 17, 6 of 10 from three); Haliburton added 21, Siakam 21. Q3 was theirs, 28-24, the deficit cut from 11 to 7, but the other 3 periods went 94-87 against them. Mathurin's -21 in 23 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/21 @ PHX 110-117 — IND notes
IND lost 110-117. IND took 12 more shots (94 to 82), fed by 14 offensive rebounds, but shot 44% to PHX's 57%, 14 of 31 from three. IND turned it over 11 times to PHX's 16. Hield led with 18 (6 of 10, 5 of 8 from three); Siakam added 15, Smith 15. Q2 was theirs, 36-32, the deficit cut from 8 to 4, but the other 3 periods went 85-74 against them. Turner's -25 in 19 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/23 vs DEN 109-114 — IND notes
IND lost 109-114. IND shot 49% (43 of 87) to DEN's 50%, 5 of 21 from three. Turner led with 22 (8 of 18, 0 of 5 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); McConnell added 17, Siakam 16. Q2 was theirs, 33-26, but the other 3 periods went 88-76 against them. They led by as many as 13. Nembhard's -15 in 27 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/25 vs PHI 134-122 — IND notes
IND won 134-122. IND shot 57% (53 of 93) to PHI's 48%, 12 of 28 from three, and got to the line 21 times to PHI's 43. IND turned it over 21 times to PHI's 12, and PHI turned those into 13 steals. The glass went 55-31 for them. Siakam led with 26 (9 of 13, 7 of 10 at the line); Turner added 20, Nembhard 19. The hinge was Q1, 34-25: from level to 9 ahead, and the lead reached 27. Siakam was the night's best plus/minus at +30.
1/26 vs PHX 133-131 — IND notes
IND won 133-131. IND shot 53% (58 of 109) to PHX's 57%, 8 of 26 from three. IND turned it over 12 times to PHX's 20. The glass went 48-38 for them. Siakam led with 31 (14 of 22, 2 of 3 from three); Toppin added 23, Nesmith 22. The hinge was Q4, 28-17: IND came in trailing by 9 and left it ahead by 2. IND trailed 70-80 at the half and won the second half 63-51.
1/28 vs MEM — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 120, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Siakam at 22 and Turner at 18 a game. Without Haliburton (4 straight). One day's rest. Memphis comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 104 a night and allowing 109, shooting 45 percent and 39 from three, 17 free throws a game; Jackson Jr. at 27 and Kennard at 16 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Bane (7 straight), LaRavia (6 straight), Rose (12 straight). One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the defense, Memphis allowing 109 a night to Indiana's 120 and the glass, where Indiana has been plus-3 a night and Memphis minus-4. Call it Indiana 118, Memphis 112.
1/30 @ BOS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 111, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 21 free throws a game; Tatum at 26 and Brown at 19 a game. Without Porziņģis (2 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 119, shooting 51 percent and 37 from three, 19 free throws a game; Siakam at 21 and Nembhard at 16 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Haliburton (5 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the defense, Boston allowing 111 a night to Indiana's 119. Call it Boston 121, Indiana 116.
2/01 @ NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 98, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 20 free throws a game; Brunson at 29 and Randle at 22 a game. That is 5 straight wins. Without Randle (2 straight), Anunoby (2 straight), Robinson (27 straight). One day's rest. Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 121, shooting 51 percent and 34 from three, 18 free throws a game; Siakam at 23 and Nesmith at 19 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without McConnell (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the defense, New York allowing 98 a night to Indiana's 121 and the arc, New York at 39 percent from three to Indiana's 34. Call it New York 120, Indiana 113.
2/02 vs SAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 120, shooting 50 percent and 36 from three, 16 free throws a game; Siakam at 23 and Nesmith at 19 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Mathurin (2 straight), McConnell (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Sacramento comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 113, shooting 49 percent and 35 from three, 21 free throws a game; Barnes at 22 and Fox at 22 a game. Without Ellis (5 straight). One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the defense, Sacramento allowing 113 a night to Indiana's 120 and the glass, where Indiana has been plus-5 a night and Sacramento plus-1. Call it Indiana 120, Sacramento 119, Sacramento keeping it close.
1/19 @ NOP 123-109 — PHX notes
PHX won 123-109. PHX shot 49% (46 of 93) to NOP's 44%, 15 of 41 from three. Booker led with 52 (18 of 30, 6 of 11 from three, 10 of 10 at the line); Durant added 26, Beal 13. The hinge was Q1, 41-28: from level to 13 ahead, and the lead reached 30. Nurkić was the night's best plus/minus at +30.
1/21 vs IND 117-110 — PHX notes
PHX won 117-110. PHX shot 57% (47 of 82) to IND's 44%, 8 of 25 from three. PHX turned it over 16 times to IND's 11, and IND turned those into 9 steals. Durant led with 40 (18 of 25, 4 of 7 from three); Booker added 26, Beal 25. The hinge was Q1, 33-25: from level to 8 ahead. Booker was the night's best plus/minus at +14.
1/22 vs CHI 115-113 — PHX notes
PHX won 115-113. PHX shot 52% (44 of 85) to CHI's 48%, 14 of 34 from three. Durant led with 43 (16 of 32, 6 of 15 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Beal added 18, Booker 16. The hinge was Q3, 34-24: the deficit went from 17 to 7. PHX trailed 49-66 at the half and won the second half 66-47. Eubanks was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
1/24 @ DAL 132-109 — PHX notes
PHX won 132-109. PHX shot 60% (51 of 85) to DAL's 46%, 14 of 34 from three. The glass went 49-33 for them. Booker led with 46 (17 of 23, 6 of 10 from three, 6 of 8 at the line); Beal added 20, Allen 15. The hinge was Q3, 43-20: PHX came in trailing by 1 and left it ahead by 22, and the lead reached 29. PHX trailed 57-58 at the half and won the second half 75-51. Booker was the night's best plus/minus at +33.
1/26 @ IND 131-133 — PHX notes
PHX lost 131-133. PHX shot 57% (51 of 89) to IND's 53%, 13 of 30 from three. PHX turned it over 20 times to IND's 12, and IND turned those into 8 steals. The glass went 38-48 against them. Booker led with 62 (22 of 37, 6 of 12 from three, 12 of 13 at the line); Durant added 20, Gordon 14. Q1 was theirs, 40-31, but the other 3 periods went 102-91 against them. They led by as many as 17. Durant's -9 in 39 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/28 @ ORL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Orlando comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 110, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 27 free throws a game; Banchero at 21 and Carter Jr. at 18 a game. Without Gar. Harris (11 straight). One day's rest. Phoenix comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 115, shooting 55 percent and 39 from three, 19 free throws a game; Booker at 40 and Durant at 28 a game. One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, on the road, and the game turns on the line, where Orlando takes 27 free throws a game to Phoenix's 19 and the arc, Phoenix at 39 percent from three to Orlando's 33. Call it Phoenix 114, Orlando 113, Orlando keeping it close.
1/29 @ MIA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Miami comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 102 a night and allowing 117, shooting 43 percent and 36 from three, 19 free throws a game; Butler III at 20 and Herro at 18 a game. That is 5 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest. Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 116, shooting 57 percent and 39 from three, 19 free throws a game; Booker at 39 and Durant at 26 a game. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Phoenix wins, on the road, and the game turns on the turnovers, Phoenix giving it away 16 times a game to Miami's 12 and the glass, where Phoenix has been plus-0 a night and Miami minus-5. Call it Phoenix 114, Miami 113, Miami keeping it close.
1/31 @ BKN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Brooklyn comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 109, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 19 free throws a game; Bridges at 27 and Thomas at 24 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Wilson (11 straight), Sharpe (9 straight). One day's rest. Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 115, shooting 55 percent and 39 from three, 19 free throws a game; Booker at 38 and Durant at 22 a game. One day's rest.
So: Brooklyn wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Phoenix has been plus-0 a night and Brooklyn minus-5. Call it Brooklyn 115, Phoenix 114, Phoenix keeping it close.
2/02 @ ATL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Atlanta comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 130, shooting 46 percent and 36 from three, 28 free throws a game; Young at 29 and Murray at 26 a game. Without Krejčí (19 straight), Fernando (5 straight). 2 days' rest. Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 116, shooting 57 percent and 40 from three, 22 free throws a game; Booker at 39 and Durant at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Phoenix allowing 116 a night to Atlanta's 130 and the turnovers, Phoenix giving it away 16 times a game to Atlanta's 11. Call it Phoenix 122, Atlanta 120, Atlanta keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
PHXBB B. Beal
CM C. Metu
DB D. Booker
DE D. Eubanks
EG E. Gordon
GA G. Allen
JN J. Nurkić
JO J. Okogie
KB K. Bates-Diop
KD K. Durant
NU Nurkic
INDAN A. Nembhard
AN A. Nesmith
BH B. Hield
BM B. Mathurin
BS B. Sheppard
JS J. Smith
MT M. Turner
OT O. Toppin
PS P. Siakam
TM T. McConnell
PHX/IND the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
INDIANAPOLIS -- — The Indiana Pacers weathered Devin Booker 's early scoring flurry Friday night. Then they stormed back late and stunned the Phoenix Suns .
Obi Toppin broke a tie with a putback with 3.4 seconds left, capping a 17-point comeback with a 133-131 victory and spoiling Booker's 62-point masterpiece.
“Great player,” Toppin said after finishing with 23 points and 11 rebounds when asked about Booker. “But that fourth quarter, we decided to hit and send another defender to get the ball out of his hands and just scramble out of that. They didn’t like it at all. I think it was their worst quarter.”
The adjustment certainly made a difference as the Suns managed just 17 points in the final 12 minutes after stringing together quarters of 40, 40 and 34 points.
Still, Booker broke his own Phoenix record for points in a quarter with 29 in the first and had a chance to win it at the buzzer. But he slipped on the inbounds pass and wasn't close with a contested 3-pointer. The Suns had won seven straight.
Booker had 50 or more points for the second time this season and seventh time in his career. He had a career-high 70 at Boston in March 2017. On Jan. 19, he had 52 at New Orleans. It just wasn't enough.
It's the first time since 1977-78 multiple players have scored 60 points in a loss. Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Towns had 62 in a loss Monday. George Gervin (63) and David Thompson (73) are the only other duo to suffer the same fate.
“Those are the shots I’ve been taking all season,” Booker said. “We’ve got some things to figure out, especially on the defensive end.”
The Suns extended the franchise record for consecutive games with 40-point scorers to five. Kevin Durant had 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
For the Pacers, it was a monumental 24-hour stretch.
Pascal Siakam scored 31 points as Indiana won for the second time in two nights — against Philadelphia and Phoenix — despite being without injured All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton both games.
And this time, with Booker heating up, it looked as if Suns would run away.
But the NBA's highest-scoring team fought back from a 54-37 second-quarter deficit to close within 80-70 at halftime and then methodically spent the second half chipping away.
They finally cut the deficit to 129-127 when Andrew Nembhard scored on a short step-back jumper with 1:59 to go. Nembhard tied it with baskets on the next two possessions. Nembhard had 22 points and six assists.
Durant then missed a 3 and after the Pacers missed two on their final possession shots, Toppin grabbed the rebound and made the basket on what might have been the easiest play in a physical, frenetic and defensively challenging game for both teams.
“We needed points so our objective was just to get involved, crash the boards,” Toppin said. “I saw Bennedict (Mathurin) try to finish over someone and then Pascal was right in front of me, so I just grabbed the ball and put it in.”
Suns guard Bradley Beal left in the third quarter after drawing an offensive foul on Pacers center Myles Turner . Beal took a a shot to the nose and was helped immediately to the locker room. He returned early in the fourth quarter, with cotton stuffed up his nostrils.