Game Day: Suns (26-18) @ Pacers (25-20), Fri 1/26/24

[Split T]

The refs just swallowed their whistles in the 4th and Indy played ultra aggressive and we didn’t…21 offensive rebounds and 19 turnovers gave them 40 extra shots…we had 7 offensive rebounds and forced 12 turnovers. They were +21 on possessions. Hard to beat a team when you give them 21 extra tries to score.

[Superbone]

The bottom line is that we didn’t bother boxing out and we got outhustled. Numerous plays including the go ahead basket where Indiana got multiple attempts at the basket, almost scoring every time. Yet another 4th quarter melt down.

It shouldn’t have come down to that last basket.

114 through 3 and then 17 in the 4th. We played all the hits in this one. Stagnant, hesitant O with not enough hustle on the other end.

I feel the same as after that stupid San Antonio loss.

This one hurts more due to Book’s wasted 62. I just watched again. The lady ref had a perfect angle to see the foul on Book’s arm. No way he’s a foot short if he wasn’t fouled.

[Shabazz]

Catastrophic 4th for Gordon (and Beal).

Why is Gordon out there if he’s gonna turn down a wide open 3?

Absolute puss

They should have just played KBD or Metu so we could have at least grabbed a rebound.

[ShelC]

[Uncle_Gene]

Despite the refs lack of calls, maybe the Suns should have played with more size down the stretch. Maybe Metu should have seen more minutes tonight.

[Wally_West]

Despite the refs lack of calls, maybe the Suns should have played with more size down the stretch. Maybe Metu should have seen more minutes tonight.

Definitely a game where Bol couldve made a big difference

[TOO]

Or Miles Bridges. *Ducks*

[JeremyG]

Wasn’t able to catch the game, but I looked at the box score and was shocked to see that Booker still wasn’t able to get more than 6 threes.

I guess he couldn’t hit that last shot because that would have required making a 7th three.

[Uncle_Gene]

Despite the refs lack of calls, maybe the Suns should have played with more size down the stretch. Maybe Metu should have seen more minutes tonight.

Definitely a game where Bol could've made a big difference

Bol Bol would've definitely helped.

[Uncle_Gene]

I was listening to the game on Sirius XM. Finally had a chance to go back and watch the last couple of minutes on DVR.

Nembhard pushed off on Allen to get that floater in the paint. I think it was an actual offensive file on Allen, but Booker was definitely hit on the forearm on that last shot and no call was made. He definitely should have got three free throws.

Pacers made their adjustments by double-teaming Booker to get the ball out of his hands late in the 4th quarter. Suns made no adjustment. This one stings. Should have been a Suns win without question. 84 points in the paint for the Pacers is not good. Suns needed more size out there.

Oh well, off to Orlando.

[ShelC]

Postgame Quotes and Videos

Spoiler: show/hide

[bajanguy008]

Ahhh bummer
Would have been nice to close this one out

Book slipping while receiving the inbound pass was so anticlimactic, no way he was still gonna get a decent shot off. As for a foul, Book just got up with the ball after slipping which is a basic travel call so is what it is

I didn't like that Pacers were scoring so easy but I was hoping a Back2Back would eventually mean they ran out of gas. Rebounds are one thing but we didn't get the loose balls late either, they were hustling more

[bajanguy008]

I was surprised to see how Nembhard was going at Grayson. Kid was getting in the paint and was key for them

Agree with others, Brad's my guy but he probably still wasn't right after that elbow. Know he's a tough dude but....

The second last possession with the game tied was the one for me. Book was denied so Grayson drove, kicked to Beal in the corner who swung to KD on the wing. Book was wide open but KD shot it over two which was surprising as they're usually guilty of maybe over passing to each other
Really thought he was gonna swing it one more time

[bajanguy008]

What most are commenting on
Smh man



I immediately looked down at the game clock cause I was wondering if I was missing something

[bajanguy008]

The suns have now lost in Bookers 3 highest scoring games

The haters love that.

Was Book fouled on that last shot? I thought he was hit on the arm a couple different times.

Yes....
And I'm the silly dude who still goes on social media and get triggered reading the stuff

I mean Mavs fans been taking victory laps that Luka outperformed him and in a win. Like we literally just cooked them.....
Stupes

[Kryptonic]

What most are commenting on
Smh man



I immediately looked down at the game clock cause I was wondering if I was missing something

When that happened, I flashed back to him bitching about not getting enough shots. The dude had a wide open shot and completely passed on it.

[Mori Chu]

I watched this one on DVR delay so I couldn't comment during. Tough night for some of our role players. Eric Gorden seemed like a real negative out there most of the game. As others have commented, I was annoyed that he passed up open shots multiple times. And Grayson Allen was being targeted on defense repeatedly, leading to open layups for the Pacers. That's a problem the Suns are going to have to work on.

I hope Beal isn't badly injured and that he won't be out for long. That elbow right to his face looked very painful. And then when he (somehow) came back into the game, I don't think he hit a single shot after that; everything he put up was off. Maybe it would have been better to just let him rest and play somebody else.

It looked like Book got fouled at the end of the game. But it wasn't a blatant foul, and I am okay with the refs letting the players decide the game. It's our fault for letting the Pacers catch us and get a lead with 3 sec left.

I'm not super pissed off about this loss. We generally played well, and Book was phenomenal. And I loved how KD and others went out of their way to feed Book because he was so hot. I can feel the chemistry improving on this team as the season goes on. This loss stings much less than those ones where we play hero ball for 48 minutes and fall down by ~ 20 points. Pacers are a very good team and you won't win every game.

[Split T]

The key in this game is everyone but Book failed to step up. We had about a 10 point lead the whole game and then blew it in the 4th. Book came back with about 7 minutes to go and went 5/11 from the field in the 4th…the rest of the suns went 1/8. With Booker being doubled that’s inexcusable. Have to make shots against a scrambling defense and we couldn’t.

[Mori Chu]

The key in this game is everyone but Book failed to step up. We had about a 10 point lead the whole game and then blew it in the 4th. Book came back with about 7 minutes to go and went 5/11 from the field in the 4th…the rest of the suns went 1/8. With Booker being doubled that’s inexcusable. Have to make shots against a scrambling defense and we couldn’t.

I thought the Big 3 played well. KD had 20 points on efficient 9/15 shooting; he could have had more but went out of his way to feed Book and focus on defense and facilitating instead (6 assists), which I think was a savvy decision. Beal had 12 points, not the greatest stat line, but the guy had his face smashed in and came back and played in the same game; what a warrior.

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401585264

[ShelC]

Yea the boxscore isn't pretty and it's tough when you see 2 guys score 82 of your points. With Book taking so many shots, it's essential the others take and make theirs when they get the ball. But really, we scored 131 points. The TOs and ORs were the difference and those things were hurting us early in the year too.

We needed to do a better job playing with our usual pace. Play with pace but not grind the offense to a halt like we've seen with guys barely getting the ball over halfcourt and getting trapped, which happened during the final possessions. There's gotta be a balance and know-how there. EG's been rough of late and he clearly didn't want to shoot late in the game. If he's off and Beal is off/missing time, things get very tough for us. Metu, JO, KBD just aren't reliable offensive players even when the other guys are on.