Indiana Pacers 120 – Phoenix Suns 111 (Dec. 19th, 2024) Game Recap

1. First Quarter

Last week when Indiana had a four-day break between games, they struggled in the opening quarter. They wouldn’t struggle as much tonight against Phoenix. After tying the game with two free-throws from Bennedict Mathurin, Indiana was outscored 11-3 to trail 15-7 after a Bradley Beal triple. Rick Carlisle would call his first timeout of the game with his team down seven, and then they came out of the timeout and knocked down three triples to go up by a touchdown with 4:44 left in the quarter. Mathurin, Haliburton, and Toppin all converted from range in during the 14-0 run. Pheonix would close the quarter by trimming its deficit to 32-29 courtesy of Devin Booker scoring six points and recording an assist on a three by Royce O’Neale. Booker led all scorers with 12 points. Indiana’s leading scorer was Andrew Nembhard with 7 points. Haliburton set the tone as a facilitator by distributing four assists in ten minutes of play.

2. Second Quarter

After a brisk first quarter, the two teams followed it up with another fast paced second quarter. Indiana extended its lead back to five points after Jusuf Nurkic knocked down two free-throws to make it 32-31. Phoenix would come back to tie the game at 40 when Kevin Durant converted a floater just inside the free-throw line. Every time Phoenix threatened to take the lead, Indiana prevented it from happening by forcing a stop and then scoring. The Pacers would eventually claim an eight-point lead when Haliburton knocked down a technical free-throw. Booker would once again lead the charge for the Suns make it a one possession game with 2:42 left in the half with two free-throws. Phoenix would draw within once twice in the final minute with two threes from O’Neale. The second triple making the halftime score 60-59 with Indiana on top by a point. Toppin had a big quarter for Indiana with 8 points. Durant got going for Phoenix with 8 points in the quarter. Leading all scorers at halftime was Booker with 16 points. Indiana’s leading scorer was Toppin off the bench with 13 points. Haliburton was on track for his third double-double with 7 points and 5 assists at intermission. Indiana only shot 39.6% from the field in the half, but were on top because they outscored Phoenix by twelve on three-pointers and scored 18 points off of 10 Phoenix turnovers.

3. Third Quarter

For the first time since the first quarter, Phoenix was in possession of the lead when Beal opened the second half scoring with a layup. Indiana responded by scoring eight consecutive points to go on top 68-61 with a Myles Turner three ball. The Suns would trim their deficit down to a field goal when Beal knocked down a pullup jumper with 8:30 remaining in the quarter. The Pacers outscored the Sunds by nine points the next three minutes to go ahead 86-75 following an Andrew Nembhard triple. Devin Booker left the game when Phoenix called a timeout with groin tightness and would not return with 5:18 left in the period. The lead for the Pacers would reach a quarter high 16 points two different times in the final two minutes. First, when T.J. McConnell splashed a free throw and then again with 39 seconds left when Siakam swished two free-throws. After three quarters of play, Indiana led Phoenix 97-83. Siakam and Durant led all scorers in the quarter with 11 points. Durant’s 21 points after three quarters led all players by a point. Siakam paced Indiana in scoring with 20 points and rebounds with 14. Haliburton needed an assist to record his third straight double-double. Indiana held Phoenix to 1/7 shooting from three-point range in the quarter and out-rebounded them 15 to 6.

4. Fourth Quarter

With Durant playing every second of the third quarter, Phoenix would have to rest him at the start of the final period. The Pacers took advantage of that situation because they quickly pushed their lead to a game high 19 points. With 9:53 left in the game, Bennedict Mathurin stole a bad pass by Nurkic and then took it to the other end of the floor for a dunk to put Indiana ahead 105-86. Phoenix did not give up even though they easily could have. With 6:59 left, Grayson Allen leaked found an easy path to the basket and dunked the basketball to cut Indiana’s advantage to eleven points. Rick Carlisle would call a timeout to regroup the troops. His team would respond by extending its lead back to seventeen points when Siakam drilled a three with a little over four minutes remaining in the game. At the time it was 116-102, and then Indiana went cold offensively. It allowed Phoenix to make it somewhat interesting. Durant got to the basket with 49 seconds left in the game for a layup to make it 116-109. Nembhard would make his two free-throws that would essentially ice the game. Indiana begins its three-game road trip with a 120-111 win over Phoenix.

5. Top Performers

Pascal Siakam (25p, 18r, 3a), Myles Turner (19pp, 6r, 2b), Andrew Nembhard (19p, 4a), Bennedict Mathurin (16p, 3s), Tyrese Haliburton (13p, 12a, 4r), Obi Toppin (13p, 8r), and T.J. McConnell (11p, 5a). For Phoenix, Kevin Durant (37p, 10r, 6a, 2s), Devin Booker (17p, 6a), Bradley Beal (16p), and Jusuf Nurkic (12p, 10r). For tonight’s full box score, click here.

6. Notes

• Indiana is now 5-11 on the road & 13-15 overall on the season
• Indiana has now tied their longest winning streak of the season at three games
• Indiana has won three consecutive road contests after winning two in their first thirteen
• Indiana had all five starters in double figures with Haliburton scoring the fewest (13)
• Indiana now 10-2 on the season when recording at least 30 assists
• Indiana only surrendered the lead once after taking a 17-16 advantage in the first quarter
• Andrew Nembhard recorded a season high 19 points in the win
• Ben Sheppard returned for the first time since 11/17 vs Miami when he injured his oblique
  • Sheppard – 16 minutes | 2 points (1/4 FG) | 2 rebounds | 1 steal | 1 block | +11
• Myles Turner’s 19 points are the most he has scored in a game since scoring 34 points on 11/17/24 vs the Miami Heat
• Obi Toppin has scored 10+ points in eight straight games (15.1 ppg during stretch)
• Obi Toppin’s 8 rebounds tied a season high
• Pascal Siakam’s 18 rebounds mark a Pacers career high and third most in his career
• Pascal Siakam recorded his 3 double-double of the season (first since 11/18)
• Tyrese Haliburton has recorded a double-double in three straight games

7. Next Up

Game two of the three-game west coast road trip will occur on Sunday afternoon from Sacramento when the Indiana Pacers take on the Kings. Pat Boylan will get things started at 5:30pm with the pregame show. Mark Boyle and Eddie Gill will have the play-by-play at 6pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan.