Devin Booker scored 16 of his 33 points in the third quarter, Dillon Brooks had 24 of his 32 in the first half and the host Phoenix Suns routed the struggling Indiana Pacers 133-98 on Thursday to extend their winning streak to five.
Oso Ighodaro had a career-high 17 points and added seven rebounds, and Grayson Allen had 12 points for the Suns, who have won seven of eight and are 6-1 at home.
Allen, who entered Thursday with an NBA-leading 50 made 3-pointers, suffered a right quad contusion when he collided with Pacers center Jay Huff on a drive with nine minutes left in the second quarter and did not return.
Andrew Nembhard had 21 points and eight assists, Pascal Siakam had 19 points and five rebounds and Tony Bradley added 10 points for the Pacers, who have lost six in a row and fell to 1-11.
The injury-plagued Pacers lost another starter when Aaron Nesmith left with left knee soreness after stepping on a teammate’s foot with 9:14 left in the third quarter. He was helped off the floor and did not return. He had 10 points.
The Pacers were already playing without Tyrese Haliburton (Achilles), Bennedict Mathurin (toe) and Obi Toppin (foot).
The Pacers have lost their last three games by 31, 24 and 35 points, respectively.
Ighodaro, who saw extended minutes while starting center Mark Williams (right knee management) was out, also had three steals and three blocked shots.
The Suns led 70-52 at halftime and put the game away with a 38-8 run spanning the late third and early fourth quarters.
They scored the first 20 points in the fourth quarter and led 126-84 after Jordan Goodwin’s three with 6:12 left. Their largest lead was 46, the biggest of the season.
The Suns shot 57.6% from the field and made 13 of 35 threes. Brooks was 12 of 18 from the floor, Booker was 12 of 22, Ighodaro was 7 of 9 and Allen was 5 of 6.
The Pacers shot 36.4%.
The game got chippy early. Brooks and T. J. McConnell were assessed double technical fouls for excessive talking with three minutes left in the first quarter.
Siakam and O’Neale got double technicals with 8:15 left in the first half, when Siakam had words with O’Neale after being fouled on a drive to the basket.
Bradley was called for a flagrant foul when he grabbed Brooks around the neck as they battled for rebounding position with 2:44 left in the half.
–Field Level Media
