Tyrese Haliburton scored 27 points to lead six Indiana scorers in double figures and the Pacers bookended the second half with big runs to send the visiting Phoenix Suns to a fourth consecutive loss and seventh in their last eight games, 126-108 on Saturday in Indianapolis.
Indiana opened the second half with a 19-9 run that lasted a little more than four minutes and gave the Pacers a lead they held the rest of the way.
Phoenix stayed within striking distance behind Kevin Durant’s 25 points and Devin Booker’s 20, but the Suns could not cut the deficit to any fewer than six points after that.
Indiana pulled away with a 13-4 run over the game’s final 4:08. Haliburton hit three of his five 3-pointers in the closing stretch.
The Pacers shot 15 of 40 overall from long distance, not dramatically better than Phoenix’s 12 of 30. However, Indiana outscored the Suns by 10 points from inside the arc (31 of 56 to 26 of 48).
Myles Turner went 7 of 11 on inside 3-point land en route to 20 points. His rim-rattling dunk over Booker, set up on a back cut and assist from Andrew Nembhard in the third quarter, electrified the home crowd.
Turner joined all four of Indiana’s other starters hitting at least one 3-pointer, going 2 of 6.
Nembhard hit both of his attempts from deep and was 3-from-3 from the floor overall with nine points to go with seven assists. Bennedict Mathurin added a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Pascal Siakam finished with 15 points and nine rebounds.
The Pacers also got double-figure scoring performances off the bench from Obi Toppin with 12 points and Ben Sheppard with 10. Phoenix reserves Monte Morris and Grayson Allen scored 12 and 13 points, respectively, with Allen hitting three of his seven 3-pointers in his return from concussion protocols.
–Field Level Media
