Pacers finish road trip 2-4, return home for their next four games

Wins in Atlanta and Sacramento, then held to 115 points or less in each of their four losses. The Pacers now return home with four games in six days.

Jalen Smith nails one of his three 3s back in Phoenix.

The NBA hasn’t seen much of the Phoenix Suns’ Big Three this season due to injuries, but they were a handful for the Pacers Sunday at Footprint Center. Kevin Durant (40), Devin Booker (26), and Bradley Beal (25) combined for 91 of 117 points and 38 of the Suns’ 47 field goals (81%).

Elite teams have elite players who can win games. The Suns had theirs, led for the majority of the game, and by as many as 14 points in a 117-110 win over the Pacers.

The Pacers (24-19) tried many different looks, including a center-less lineup to close the game. T.J. McConnell started at point guard but only played three minutes in the second half (and not at all in the fourth quarter). Bennedict Mathurin had another tough outing, going 1 of 16 for six points in the last two games. And Buddy Hield scored a game-high 18 points, but the Suns were hunting him late after the Pacers tied it up at 107 with 2:25 left.