25 turnovers. Wow. You can’t win a game like that with that many turnovers. The turnovers committed fueled a loss for the Indiana Pacers and a donated victory for the Phoenix Suns. Indy had the game well within their grasp, but couldn’t hold on. It was as if the Pacers were the Coyote who was winning, but would just somehow lose in the desert to the Roadrunner, which were the Suns.

The Suns needed this game. At 9-9, Phoenix was on a roll and they had to get above .500. Meanwhile, Indiana was already above .500, having a 9-8 record entering the match-up in their final four-game road-trip with the Western Conference teams. Indy has succeeded thus far, but getting past the Suns was a task Indy had to complete before heading back home to take on the Milwaukee Bucks at Conseco Fieldhouse. They couldn’t succeed, and the Suns advanced to go up to .500 as Indy fell to exactly .500 once again, now at 9-9.

“I told my wife, we’ve just got to win this game and get above .500,” Channing Frye said.

The game opened up a 20-16 lead for the Suns. After that, Indiana went on a roll. They followed by great defense, good shooting, and some key three-pointers. T.J. Ford helped big on that drive. He made a key assist. He was about to make an easy lay-up, maybe even with a foul, but made a tricky pass to a wide-open James Posey at the three-point line for a go-ahead bucket. Ford would lead the way on the next possessions. As the first quarter ended, Indy had 28-20 lead and ended with a solid 12-0 run. 

But the Suns would come back in the second quarter. With a 33-24 lead in hand, Goran Dragic made a key three-pointer to put the Suns down by six. Indiana couldn’t respond, and before they knew it, their lead would be cut down to 35-32. But as the first half ended, Indy gain backed their stride and was now at a 59-52 lead. Things would go downhill from there. Channing Frye would help guide the Suns back into this one. Phoenix was down 74-71 later in the game, but Frye was then wide-open for a go-ahead three. He hit and the Suns were now tied. Indy would follow-up with their buckets. Later after that, the Pacers held on to a 78-76 lead. But Frye answered back with a similar three just a few possessions earlier, now putting the Suns up 79-78. The big fourth quarter would lead to the Suns victory, 105-97, with a 31-21 outburst in that quarter.

Channing Frye was of eleven-of-16 with 29 points, five rebounds, and three blocked shots.

“Channing did a great job shooting the ball and he did a great job on defense,” Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. “He shot without any hesitation. We’ve told him he’s got to shoot the ball when he’s open.”

“Channing hit 3s and opened things up for us,” Jason Richardson, who added 21 points for the Suns, said.

The Suns limited the Pacers to 37 points in the second-half, which led to the comeback victory.

“The defense won the game for us,” Richardson said.

It was surprising to see the Suns play like this, considering they are one of the worst defensive teams in the league and the worst rebounding teams. Indy had 25 turnovers, like mentioned earlier, which led to 26 points for Phoenix. Fast break points also helped as the Suns are a fast team. Michael Schwartz mentioned earlier Phoenix could burn you on the fast-break, and they did just that, outscoring Indy 18-9 in that category.

Danny Granger struggled, as he only had eight points in the game. He was two-of-13 shooting. He was just coming off a 37-point game two games back in a victory over the Sacramento Kings.

Indiana coach Jim O’Brien said, “25 turnovers … You can’t win a game with that many turnovers.”

“We were way too careless with the ball,” the Pacers’ Mike Dunleavy said. “We were doing stuff out there that I’ve never seen before.

“Between us putting them on the line for free throws and us turning the ball over, I don’t understand how we lost by eight points and it wasn’t 30.”

The Pacers had 20 fouls, which led to an extra 24 points out of a possible 33 from the free-throw line. Indy was only twelve-of-16 from charity stripe. Another big thing that led to Indy’s loss was Roy Hibbert. He was limited in the game, as he committed three fouls in the first seven minutes of the game! He would sit out the whole first half after that. Just think if he was in there, Indy probably would have had a much larger lead. This is what led to Josh McRoberts leading the team with nine rebounds, along with 16 points, too. Brandon Rush had 21 points and Dunleavy had 16.

Jared Dudley meanwhile had twelve points for the Suns while Steve Nash had twelve points and eleven assists.

The Pacers will face the Bucks next. At 9-9, there really isn’t all that much to worry about. I mean, look, check out all the power rankings. Indy is in the top-eleven! Indy has been playing fairly well. They got robbed from the Bucks in their last game against them. They should be able to get a win this time around. Meanwhile, the Suns will host the Washington Wizards next.

Indy needs to know one thing from this.

Protect the ball and don’t commit fouls, that is all.

Pacers coverage: Always Miller Time, 8 Points 9 Seconds, Indy Cornrows, Pacers Press, Pacers Gab, Pacers Digest, Pacers Locker

Suns coverage: Valley of the Suns, 365 Days of Suns, Bright Side of the Sun, Suns Dynasty, Sun Stuff’t, Suns Locker, Suns Can Win

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The Indiana Pacers will finish up their Western Conference road trip with the 9-9 Phoenix Suns tonight. Indiana is recently coming off a loss to the Utah Jazz, getting destroyed. Danny Granger had the flu, the Jazz were on a roll, and the Pacers were just finishing up a game less than 24 hours earlier than this one. It was a schedule loss, too, then. But now with a full day’s rest, Indy has the energy to hopefully get past Steve Nash and Phoenix.

I hope to see Indy flying off the boards right away, as the team’s leading-rebounder for the Pacers is Roy Hibbert with 9.2 averaged per game. That is way better compared to the Suns’ leader in Channing Frye, who is averaging 5.7 rebounds per game. I see Hibbert having a big game. Accu Score predicts a 64-percent chance for the Suns to win against Indy’s 36-percent chance.

My prediction would be Indiana winning, 98-89. But even if they lose, they are still at .500 at 9-9. But Indy still needs to keep it rolling for them. Danny Granger needs to get it clicking as well as the rest of the team tonight, now with full energy to go. Hopefully a win is out there.

“The Jazz are right in the hunt in the West and we’re trying to get a playoff spot,” Pacers coach Jim O’Brien said of the loss from the Jazz. “There’s a world of difference between their franchise and ours right now.”

“We played a really good defensive game — we almost held them to 100 points,” Jason Richardson said after scoring 25 points in Phoenix’s 107-101 over the Golden State Warriors. ” …This is a step forward in the right direction. We have to look at the film and get ready for tomorrow’s game.”

Come on Pacers.

I also had a chance to have an interview with Michael Shwartz of ValleyoftheSuns.com for the game. Here is the interview:

Josh Dhani: What affect do you think it has on the Suns of the departure of  Amare Stoudemire?

Michael Schwartz: It’s been a pretty sizable impact. Although Hakim Warrick has done a decent job at times, they are missing the best roll man in the NBA and the perfect complement to Steve Nash in the two man game. Beyond that, they miss his size on the boards (never thought they would miss him in that manner). They are playing so small without him, and they also lack a go-to scorer in crunch time.

JD: A lot of trade rumors have been coming up of Steve Nash, what is your take on that?

MS: I believe that Steve Nash should not be traded. That article has my full thoughts and I spoke about it near the end of this week’s Phoenix Suns podcast, but I believe that first off it’s a moot point unless the Suns fall out of the race. I would sign off on such a deal (because obviously I have that kind of power and all) if they got back a young power forward who could develop into a No. 1 option. I doubt such a deal would be on the table, and I would reject the J.J. Hickson and a pick kind of deal that was rumored for Amare. I worry about what the Suns’ future will be like without Nash, so unless you get a guy who can significantly improve it I say hang on to MV Steve and take your chances this season. Perhaps the offseason will be a different story when teams have most assets available to offer and Nash will have more time to assimilate to a new team.

JD: Grant Hill says he does not want to retire. He looks to play until he is 40. What is your opinion on that?

MS: He certainly can do that. He’s making up for the time lost on the front end of his career. He’s possibly the Suns’ best perimeter defender, often taking the opposition’s top perimeter scorer, and he’s been fantastic offensively as well. It’s a shock when he misses his mid-range shot, and he’s lethal in transition and a solid rebounder. If Hill keeps this play up, he will certainly play that long.

JD: At 9-9, do you think the Suns are still good enough for a playoff spot?

MS: Definitely. However, they need to acquire a quality four if they want to have a shot at making any noise. Only the Lakers boast a more efficient offense than the Suns, so just mediocre defense and rebounding can lead them to the playoffs, although they’ve been worse than mediocre in those departments thus far. Their schedule has also been very difficult, but they got tough road wins in LA, Utah and Atlanta, and I feel once Robin Lopez returns and a trade is potentially made this is a playoff team.

JD: Who is the Suns X-Factor for this game?

MS: Hakim Warrick. If he’s clicking with the Suns’ starters and grabbing a couple more boards than usual, this is a very tough team to beat.

JD: What is your prediction for the Suns this year?

MS: 47-35 and a first-round playoff loss.

JD: This question is probably asked a lot, but what is your opinion on the Heat forming up and how they are doing right now?

MS: It’s great for the NBA. They’re the most talked about .500 team in NBA history right now. I think they’re going to be fine. They’ve had a ton of injuries and we knew it would be an adjustment all of them playing together. They still are as big a threat as anyone to go to the Finals in the East, and I still think they have the makings of a dynasty once everyone gets healthy and they sign a few more guys down the road. I thought LeBron’s best move was New York, but in terms of intrigue you’ve got to love what happened as well as their struggles. Everybody’s eyes are on this basketball team right now.

JD: What is the key for the Pacers to stop the Suns?

MS: Rebound and make shots. When teams miss long jumpers and allow the Suns to run, there’s no beating them. They can throw a 30-point quarter on you like nothing, but when they are pounded on the glass and decimated defensively it takes some of the luster off the offense, and there aren’t as many easy opportunities.

JD: What is your prediction for the Finals?

MS: At the start of the season I said Lakers over Heat, and I’ll stick with that. I think Miami will get it together.

JD: What is your prediction for this game?

Suns 110, Pacers 102. Revenge for Nash’s gash and Earl Watson’s slapfest with Channing Frye last season.