The Phoenix Suns entered their Friday night contest against the Indiana Pacers having won their past seven games. After a rough midseason stretch, Kevin Durant and company appear to have figured things out, with the Suns letting Devin Booker cook as the main option. However, on Friday, the Suns ended up losing to the Pacers, 133-131, even though Booker had a worthy encore to his 46-point night against the Dallas Mavericks, dropping 62 in the loss.
For most of the game, it seemed as though the Suns were in control. However, come the fourth quarter, the Pacers ratcheted up the intensity on defense, doubling the pick-and-roll ballhandler, and forcing the Suns to rely heavily on the perimeter. This, in turn, doomed the Phoenix offense when their shooting ran cold.
Kevin Durant pointed out that this coverage from Indiana made them play passive (the Suns drew a grand total of zero team fouls from the Pacers in the fourth quarter), which led to their undoing in a heartbreaking two-point loss.
“We’ve got to be more aggressive and make them call the fouls. The turnovers, the offensive rebounds… so that’s a formula to lose right there. No matter how well you shoot. If you got 20 less possessions and 20 offensive rebounds, and we turn over 19 times… we’ll never win a basketball game like that,” Durant said in his postgame presser, per Duane Rankin of AZ Central.
