The Phoenix Suns closed the first half of the regular season with a 112-94 victory over the Indiana Pacers that allowed them to lead the NBA with a 32-9 record.
Devin Booker led the offense with 35 points; seconded by center DeAndre Ayton with 27 points, 12 rebounds and a remarkable 12 of 18 shooting from the field.
“I’m a shooting guard, and I get paid to make the plays and put the ball in the net, but all of these are not achieved without the blocks of DeAndre (Ayton) or the assists of Chris (Paul),” Devin Booker admitted to ESPN. “That DeAndre (Ayton) had a dominant first half (21 of his 27 points) made things open for all of us in the second half,” he explained.
The aforementioned Booker garnered 22 points in the third period, which allowed the Arizonans to turn the electronics around. Leading 80-76 early in the fourth quarter, a favorable 23-2 run finished off the Pacers.
“Booker made some really tough baskets. And we gave up 38 points in the third quarter, so we needed something to make up for that,” Monty Williams said. “We kept defending and defending, and that helped us a lot,” added the coach.
Justin Holiday was the greatest exponent of his team with 25 points and seven three-pointers made; followed by Caris LeVert with 20 points and 9 basket passes. Rick Carlisle’s men are crying out for a reconstruction with their third consecutive defeat and with only one victory in the last ten days they have played.
«The third quarter has been tremendous for us. We were able to take a lead, however slight. We put defense and attack together, and got into the type of game we need, which is with a lot of pace and ball movement. But late in the third quarter and early in the fourth they hit us with a run that they’re very capable of. They do it consistently to many teams. It was a very difficult game to answer. We are very disappointed with the result,” concluded Rick Carlisle.
(Cover photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
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