Winners of the Lakers then the Warriors, the Pacers will not achieve the pass of three. Still deprived of four incumbents, Rick Carlisle’s men lost 113-103 on the Suns floor, victims of a very good Paul-Biyombo duo. Taking advantage of the clumsiness of Devin Booker, and the exit of Chris Paul, the Pacers took control at the end of the first quarter thanks to Chris Duarte.
But Chris Paul’s return to play changes everything, and by his vista to find Mikal Bridges or his shots from mid-range, the Suns point guard restores the advantage to the Suns (43-35). At his side, Devin Booker still does not put one, and the Pacers stay alive thanks to the free throws. At the break, Phoenix is in front (59-54) but the Pacers remain in ambush. CP3 is already at 14 points and 9 assists on 100% on shots.
Back from the locker room, the Paul-Bridges duo got angry, and the Suns signed an 8-0 to take off (67-54). On an alley-oop between Paul and Bismack Biyombo, the gap even reached 20 points (81-61). On the Pacers side, Lance Stephenson brings a spark, but Phoenix finds Biyombo perfectly near the circle. At the start of the 4th quarter, the gap is still substantial (98-78) with the Paul-Biyombo duo still making the difference.
But the Suns relax, and the Pacers sign an 11-2 to believe in the feat. Thanks to Goga Bitadze, they even come back to -6 with four minutes remaining. Monty Williams has no choice but to put Bismack Biyombo back into play, and Cameron Johnson takes care of reassuring the public with a big 3-pointer. Final score: 113-103 for a 6th victory in a row. But it will leave traces.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Two more wounded. Already deprived of Dario Saric and Deandre Ayton, the Suns lost Jae Crowder and Cam Payne, both hit in the wrist. If Cameron Payne initially stayed in the game, after his injury in the first quarter, he did not play after the break. As for Jae Crowder, who fell badly after a lay-up in the 3rd quarter, he went straight to the locker room.
– Phoenix has defeated his pet peeve. The Pacers remained on six straight wins on the floor of the Suns.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅Chris Paul. 99th career game with 15 or more assists for the All-Star point guard. Very clumsy Devin Booker, he took care of everything with a perfect first half by his skill and his management. A very great match from Paul, and his agreement with Biyombo is already amazing. Many pivots would dream of having such a leader…
✅ Bismack Biyombo. Two career bests on the same night for the Suns rookie with 21 points and 5 assists, to which must be added 13 rebounds. It was when he was on the bench that the Pacers came back to score in the 4th quarter. If he continues like this, he will push JaVale McGee off the bench when Ayton returns.
✅Lance Stephenson. Great second half from Lance Stephenson, and Rick Carlisle must have appreciated his agreement with Jeremy Lamb. Both are not far from their best level, and they allowed the Pacers to believe in the feat with four minutes remaining.
⛔ Devin Booker. Disaster evening for the best player of the week, even to the point of missing a ready-made dunk at the end of the match! From the first quarter, we saw that his shots were too short or too long. On arrival, an ugly 5 out of 23 on shots.
THE FOLLOWING
Phoenix (36-9) : Jazz reception on Monday evening.
Indiana (17-30) : Trip to New Orleans on Monday.
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