Kevin Durant Powers Suns Past Pacers
PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns (24-18) defeated the Indiana Pacers (24-19) 117-110 Sunday night at Footprint Center, pushing the team's winning streak to five consecutive games.
Suns coach Frank Vogel opted for the usual starting five, while Pacers coach Rick Carlisle went with T.J. McConnell, Buddy Hield, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner in the absence of Tyrese Haliburton.
The Suns started the game out hot and rode the early momentum to a 33-25 lead after one frame thanks to Devin Booker's 10 points in the first quarter.
Phoenix maintained that momentum by taking a 65-61 lead into halftime. While every player who saw the court for the Pacers scored in the first half, they were led by former Suns player Jalen Smith - who notched 13 points in his 11 minutes of action.
The Suns spent much of the third quarter looking to break the game open, but Indiana failed to cede, only trailing by eight heading into the fourth quarter.
The Pacers kept themselves within striking distance throughout the final frame and finally took the lead with 3:20 remaining following an 11-0 run.
A number of timely buckets from Bradley Beal and Grayson Allen gave the Suns enough breathing room to edge out a win on home court.
Key Performances
Kevin Durant- 40 PTS, 8 REB, 2 AST, 3 BLK
Devin Booker- 24 PTS, 6 REB, 8 AST, 2 STL
Bradley Beal- 24 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL
Pascal Siakam - 15 PTS, 4 REB, 7 AST
Jalen Smith- 15 PTS, 4 REB, 1 STL, 2 BLK
What's Next
The Suns face the Chicago Bulls tomorrow night at Footprint Center before a road game against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.
