NBA: Suns beat shorthanded Pacers for 6th straight win
Chris Paul #3 of the Phoenix Suns shoots over Isaiah Jackson #23 of the Indiana Pacers during the second half of the NBA game at Footprint Center on January 22, 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns defeated the Pacers 113-103. Christian Petersen/Getty Images/AFP
Mikal Bridges scored 23 points and Bismack Biyombo added 21 points with 13 rebounds as the Phoenix Suns extended their winning streak to six games with a 113-103 victory Saturday over the visiting Indiana Pacers.
Chris Paul added 18 points with 16 assists as the Suns won for the ninth time in their last 10 games in their return home from a perfect five-game road trip. Phoenix won on an off-night for leading scorer Devin Booker, who finished with 11 points while shooting 5 of 23 from the field.
Article continues after this advertisementBig night for Bismack 🙌@bismackbiyombo ties two career-highs with 21 PTS and 5 AST to propel the @Suns to their sixth-straight dub ☀ pic.twitter.com/KnQFrmJRDg
— NBA (@NBA) January 23, 2022
CP3 is 7-for-8 from the floor with 16 PTS and 11 AST 🔥@Suns lead in the third on NBA League Pass: https://t.co/L8Rrlv9ZoR pic.twitter.com/DKOQgJ5sYL
— NBA (@NBA) January 23, 2022
Chris Duarte and Lance Stephenson each scored 17 points for the Pacers and Goga Bitadze added 16 with 11 rebounds, but the Pacers were not able to match the effort they delivered Thursday in a victory at Golden State.
Article continues after this advertisementIndiana was without starters Caris LeVert (calf), Malcolm Brogdon (Achilles) and Domantas Sabonis (ankle) for the second consecutive game. Sabonis leads the Pacers with 19.0 points per game, while Brogdon is second (18.5) and LeVert is third (18.4).
Jeremy Lamb had 14 points for the Pacers, who saw their modest two-game winning streak come to an end. It was the first time Indiana had won consecutive games since winning three consecutive Dec. 6-10.
Despite their personnel issues, the Pacers managed to keep pace early, leading 25-24 after the first quarter. The Suns began to assert themselves in the second quarter, leading by as many as eight points and taking a 59-54 advantage into halftime.
Booker was just 3 of 12 from the field in the first half with six points and did not make his second field goal until 3:28 remained before halftime. But Paul helped to make up for it by going 6 of 6 from the field in the first half en route to 14 points.
The Suns took over in the third quarter to lead by as many as 20 points, while taking a 92-74 advantage into the fourth quarter. The Suns lost Jae Crowder in the third quarter to a left wrist injury.
JaVale McGee had 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Suns, who were without Deandre Ayton (ankle). Justin Holiday and Oshae Brissett each had 10 points for the Pacers.
