Game ID: 22300604
Indiana Pacers @ Phoenix Suns
Sunday, January 21, 2024 at 8:00 PM ET
Footprint Center, Phoenix, AZ
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
PHX 33 32 26 26 117IND 25 36 22 27 110
IND @ PHX ScoutingIND @ 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.
PHX availability going into 1/11 · 2 days' restOUT Bol missed 2 since 1/07, returns tonight: 17 min (162% of 11)
BACK Durant back 1/07 after 3, 36 min since (95% of 38)
BACK Gordon back 1/08 after 2, 25 min since (88% of 28)
BACK Eubanks back 1/01 after 3, 12 min since (78% of 16)
BACK Bates-Diop back 1/01 after 7, 15 min since (95% of 15)
BACK Watanabe back 1/01 after 2, 7 min since (50% of 13)
PHX availability going into 1/14 · 2 days' restBACK Durant back 1/07 after 3, 34 min since (92% of 38)
BACK Gordon back 1/08 after 2, 24 min since (85% of 28)
BACK Bol back 1/11 after 2, 17 min since (162% of 11)
PHX availability going into 1/16 · 1 day's restBACK Durant back 1/07 after 3, 35 min since (94% of 38)
BACK Gordon back 1/08 after 2, 24 min since (86% of 28)
BACK Bol back 1/11 after 2, 17 min since (162% of 11)
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)
IND availability going into 1/14 · 1 day's restOUT Haliburton missed 2 since 1/10, out tonight
BACK Nembhard back 1/08 after 3, 20 min since (77% of 26)
BACK Sheppard back 1/12 after 2, 4 min since (24% of 16)
NEW Smith 16 to 24 min over the last 4
IND availability going into 1/15 · back-to-backOUT Haliburton missed 3 since 1/10, out tonight
BACK Nembhard back 1/08 after 3, 23 min since (85% of 26)
BACK Sheppard back 1/12 after 2, 4 min since (24% of 16)
NEW Smith 16 to 24 min over the last 4
IND availability going into 1/18 · 2 days' restOUT Haliburton missed 4 since 1/10, out tonight
OUT Nesmith missed 2 since 1/14, out tonight
BACK Nembhard back 1/08 after 3, 23 min since (85% of 26)
BACK Sheppard back 1/12 after 2, 15 min since (94% of 16)
NEW Smith 16 to 23 min over the last 4
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)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Phoenix comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 118, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 24 free throws a game; Booker at 31 and Durant at 24 a game. That is 4 straight wins. One day's rest. Indiana comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 119, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Turner at 17 and Hield at 16 a game. Without Nembhard (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Phoenix 121, Indiana 117, Indiana keeping it close.
1/11 @ LAL 127-109 — PHX notes
PHX won 127-109. PHX shot 49% (46 of 93) to LAL's 50%, 14 of 39 from three. PHX turned it over 12 times to LAL's 18. Beal led with 37 (14 of 21, 8 of 10 from three); Booker added 31, Durant 18. The hinge was Q3, 39-26: a lead of 14 became 27, and the lead reached 32. Allen was the night's best plus/minus at +32.
1/14 @ POR 127-116 — PHX notes
PHX won 127-116. PHX shot 61% (46 of 76) to POR's 45%, 13 of 28 from three. Booker led with 34 (14 of 22, 1 of 6 from three); Beal added 23, Durant 21. The hinge was Q2, 40-28: PHX came in trailing by 2 and left it ahead by 10, and the lead reached 17. Nurkić was the night's best plus/minus at +18.
1/16 vs SAC 119-117 — PHX notes
PHX won 119-117. PHX shot 49% (42 of 85) to SAC's 50%, 17 of 37 from three, and went to the line 20 times to SAC's 12 — 18 points from the stripe to their 7. The glass went 46-31 for them. Allen led with 29 (10 of 17, 9 of 14 from three); Durant added 27, Booker 16. The hinge was Q4, 35-21: PHX came in trailing by 12 and left it ahead by 2. PHX trailed 51-68 at the half and won the second half 68-49. Allen was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
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 — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Phoenix comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 112, shooting 53 percent and 39 from three, 22 free throws a game; Booker at 32 and Durant at 26 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Second night of a back-to-back. Chicago comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 114, shooting 51 percent and 38 from three, 18 free throws a game; DeRozan at 21 and White at 20 a game. Without Craig (17 straight). One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Phoenix has been plus-8 a night and Chicago plus-2. Call it Phoenix 117, Chicago 113, Chicago keeping it close.
1/24 @ DAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Dallas comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 122, shooting 46 percent and 37 from three, 23 free throws a game; Irving at 31 and Hardaway Jr. at 26 a game. Without Exum (9 straight). One day's rest. Phoenix comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 113, shooting 53 percent and 41 from three, 21 free throws a game; Durant at 31 and Booker at 29 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 4 a night. One day's rest.
So: Dallas wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Phoenix has been plus-4 a night and Dallas minus-2 and the defense, Phoenix allowing 113 a night to Dallas's 122. Call it Dallas 118, Phoenix 117, Phoenix keeping it close.
1/26 @ IND — 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.
1/28 @ 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.
1/14 @ DEN 109-117 — IND notes
IND lost 109-117. IND took 21 more shots (92 to 71), fed by 14 offensive rebounds, but shot 47% to DEN's 65%, 8 of 29 from three. IND turned it over 13 times to DEN's 21. Brown led with 18 (8 of 16); Hield added 16, Nembhard 12. Q1 was theirs, 28-28, but the other 3 periods went 89-81 against them. Nembhard's -16 in 29 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/15 @ UTA 105-132 — IND notes
IND lost 105-132. IND took 14 more shots (95 to 81), fed by 18 offensive rebounds, but shot 40% to UTA's 56%, 9 of 31 from three, and got to the line 25 times to UTA's 35. Nembhard led with 14 (5 of 10, 1 of 3 from three); Hield added 14, Smith 12. Q4 was theirs, 26-27, but the other 3 periods went 105-79 against them. Smith's -28 in 19 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/18 @ SAC 126-121 — IND notes
IND won 126-121. IND shot 55% (49 of 89) to SAC's 52%, 13 of 33 from three, and got to the line 19 times to SAC's 32. Mathurin led with 25 (11 of 21, 2 of 6 from three); McConnell added 20, Turner 18. The hinge was Q2, 36-26: a lead of 3 became 13, and the lead reached 16. Toppin was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
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 — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 121, shooting 46 percent and 37 from three, 23 free throws a game; Turner at 17 and Hield at 16 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest. Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 110, shooting 54 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Jokić at 31 and Murray at 23 a game. It has won the glass by 10 a night. One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-10 a night and Indiana minus-5 and the defense, Denver allowing 110 a night to Indiana's 121. Call it Denver 118, Indiana 116, Indiana keeping it close.
1/25 vs PHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 120, shooting 46 percent and 37 from three, 23 free throws a game; Turner at 19 and Siakam at 17 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Haliburton (2 straight). One day's rest. Philadelphia comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 111, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 32 free throws a game; Embiid at 44 and Maxey at 24 a game. That is 5 straight wins. Without Melton (5 straight), Beverley (2 straight), Covington (10 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Philadelphia wins, on the road, and the game turns on the line, where Philadelphia takes 32 free throws a game to Indiana's 23 and the defense, Philadelphia allowing 111 a night to Indiana's 120. Call it Philadelphia 120, Indiana 116, Indiana keeping it close.
1/26 vs PHX — 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.
1/28 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.
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
JW J. Walker
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
Kevin Durant scores 40 points, Suns hold off Pacers 117-110 for 5th straight victory
PHOENIX -- — The Big 3 is starting to become a reality for the Phoenix Suns . Now the wins are beginning to follow.
Kevin Durant scored 40 points, Devin Booker had 26 and the Suns beat the Indiana Pacers 117-110 on Sunday night for their fifth straight victory.
Bradley Beal added 25 points on 11-of-16 shooting for Phoenix, which led for most of the night and took a 91-83 advantage into the fourth quarter. It's the second straight game that the All-Star trio of Durant, Booker and Beal has combined for 91 points.
“I felt like they played us straight up,” Durant said. “And when teams do that, we're going to be aggressive.”
The Pacers made a few runs early in the final period, but Durant seemed to thwart every rally with another mid-range basket. The 35-year-old star made his first five shots of the fourth quarter.
Indiana has lost four of five. Buddy Hield led the Pacers with 18 points, and Pascal Siakam — acquired this week from Toronto — had 15 points and seven assists. All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton sat out for the sixth time in seven games because of a left hamstring strain.
Indiana used a 11-0 run to take a 105-103 lead on Hield's 3-pointer with 3:20 left, but Durant responded again, this time with a 3-pointer, and the Suns wouldn't trail again. Durant made 18 of 25 shots, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range, putting together a big scoring night without taking a free throw.
“He's a very unusual problem,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “I thought we fought him hard, had some good possessions on him, but his ability to rise up off the dribble and get complete clearance is special.”
Beal hit three baskets in the final 2:11 that were crucial in helping Phoenix keep the lead. Booker shot just 9 of 24 from the field, including 1 of 7 from 3-point range, but had a crucial steal with about 25 seconds remaining to seal it.
The Durant-Booker-Beal trio had a rough start to the season, mainly because of injuries. Beal missed most of the first few months with back and ankle injuries while Booker and Durant have also missed a handful of games.
But for the past few weeks, the roster has been whole. It's no coincidence that the team's in the midst of a five-game winning streak.
“It's the definition of pick your poison,” Booker said. “All of us coming in with an aggressive mindset, it'll be hard to stop us. Especially late game with the spacing out there.”
The Suns jumped out to a 33-25 lead after one quarter, shooting 62% from the field, and held a 65-61 advantage at halftime. Durant had 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting.
Indiana's Jalen Smith — who was drafted by the Suns in 2021 and part of the roster that made it to the NBA Finals — had 15 points and four rebounds against his former team.