Suns-Pacers Preview

By KATE HEDLIN
Posted Mar 23 2012 1:36AM

The Phoenix Suns are struggling in the midst of a heavy stretch of road games while trying to stay in playoff contention.

The Suns will try to get their first win on this four-game trip against Eastern Conference opponents when they visit the Indiana Pacers on Friday night.

Phoenix climbed back into the postseason race by winning 11 of 14, but it opened this trek with losses on back-to-back nights against Miami and Orlando.

The Suns (23-24), who are 2 1/2 games behind Houston for the final playoff spot in the West, averaged 102.3 points during that 14-game stretch, but 94.0 in the last two. One night after posting 20 turnovers against the Heat, they had 17 in a 103-93 loss at Orlando on Wednesday, trailing by as many as 22 points.

Marcin Gortat went 1 of 7 from the field and scored four points while Channing Frye went 4 of 10 for nine points after finishing with just two against Miami.

"We turned the ball over again too much, gave up too many easy baskets and then we have to complete plays," coach Alvin Gentry said. "We've still got to be able to execute. ... We were always playing from behind."

The Suns have dropped six of seven away from home, giving up an average of 106.5 points in those defeats.

That doesn't bode well considering they're two games into a stretch of 12 road games in 15 contests overall. They end this trip Sunday at Cleveland.

Steve Nash's play is also a concern. The 38-year-old point guard has as many assists (12) as turnovers the last two games and is averaging just 7.5 points in the last four.

Things won't get any easier against Indiana (27-18), which has won its last two and four of six following a four-game losing streak.

The Pacers are coming off an 85-83 win at Washington on Thursday - the second straight game and 17th this season in which they held an opponent to fewer than 90 points. They shot just 41.9 percent, but had 14 offensive rebounds and outscored the Wizards 54-32 in the second half.

Roy Hibbert had 19 points and nine rebounds and David West finished with 13 points and grabbed several key rebounds down the stretch despite dislocating his left pinkie in the third quarter.

West's offensive board set up a 3-pointer by Paul George to give Indiana an 84-83 lead with 1:01 remaining. The Pacers missed two more shots in the final minute, but West grabbed the rebound on each to help the team hold on.

"Seriously, he dislocated his finger and he was able to tip the ball out," Hibbert said. "It shows how strong-willed he is. He was putting on an offensive rebounding clinic down there. He's a big reason why we won tonight, probably the reason why we won."

Former Suns guard Leandro Barbosa, who scored 12 points in his Pacers debut Tuesday in a win over the Los Angeles Clippers, was held to two points Thursday. Barbosa, acquired from Toronto last week, has averaged 16.0 points in three meetings with Phoenix.

Indiana has lost three straight against the Suns, but is 10-3 against teams from the West this season, winning five in a row and holding the last four to an average of 81.5 points.

Gortat, Nash lead Suns past Pacers, 113-111

Posted Mar 23 2012 11:28PM

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Steve Nash thought the game changed when the Phoenix Suns started controlling rebounds and loose balls.

The Indiana Pacers thought the problem was not controlling Nash.

Marcin Gortat had 23 points and eight rebounds, Nash added 12 points and tied his season high with 17 assists, and the Suns beat the Pacers 113-111 on Friday night.

"We let Steve Nash control the tempo of the game," Pacers center Roy Hibbert said. "We did not do a very good job of controlling them."

Nash leads the league with more than 11 assists per game. He's had 17 assists in three other games this season.

Grant Hill scored 22 points for the Suns, who never gave up the lead in the fourth quarter.

For Nash, it was just a matter of playing better in the second half and doing the little things necessary to pull off the win.

"I think we came up with a lot of loose balls, some hustle plays," Nash said. "Got stops, rebounds, gave us a chance to get out and get some baskets. I thought we were just tougher in the third quarter than in the first half."

Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry gave credit to his defense for being able to stay ahead of the Pacers.

"We did a good job defensively in the second half," Gentry said. "We didn't come up with a lot of the 50-50 balls in the first half. We came up with defensive stops, but we still end up fumbling the ball or they come up with it. Thought we did a real good job with that in the second half."

Danny Granger had 28 points and Roy Hibbert finished with 19 points and seven rebounds for the Pacers, who played their second game in a series of three games in three days.

They beat the Washington Wizards, 85-83, on Thursday and go on the road to face Milwaukee on Saturday.

The Suns are in the middle of a four-game road trip and avoided heading into the last game of the trip in Cleveland on Sunday with three losses.

"It would have been real tough to go 0-for-4 on this trip or go into the Cleveland game 0-and-3 and put all that pressure on ourselves," Nash said. "We got some good feelings back. Got some confidence back. So we've got a big game in Cleveland we've got to win."

Pacers coach Frank Vogel was ejected from the game with less than two minutes left after picking up his second technical.

Hill hit a jumper and Nash's free throw after Vogel was called for his first technical with 5:11 left in the game gave the Suns a 99-93 lead.

The Pacers came back to get within 101-99 when Granger hit a 3-pointer with 2:31 left. He had 10 points in the fourth quarter.

But that's when Hill went to the line and hit two free throws to make it 103-99 and Vogel was called for his second technical after the Pacers turned the ball over.

Nash hit the free throw and the Suns led 104-99.

Paul George followed with a jumper before Hibbert made two free throws to get the Pacers within a point. But Gortat answered with a layup and Frye hit his 3-pointer with less than 30 seconds to play.

The Pacers nearly tied it in the final seconds. George was fouled with 1.7 seconds left and made the first free throw. He missed the second and grabbed the rebound, but missed the layup as time expired.

"Could have been a little better with our defensive execution down the stretch and our guys other than Steve shooting free throws," Hill said. "Got in a really good rhythm there in that third quarter and it carried over to the fourth and did what we had to do down the stretch."

The Pacers were never able to take more than a five-point lead in the first quarter and neither team took more than a seven-point lead throughout the entire game.

"A tough loss, but I'm proud of the way we competed," Vogel said. "I thought we outplayed the Suns for three quarters."

Indiana made multiple roster changes.

Pacers center Jeff Foster announced his retirement on Wednesday because of chronic back problems and the Pacers announced Friday that they signed center Kyrylo Fesenko from the Utah Jazz.

Fesenko sat behind the bench in street clothes.

Both moves came after the Pacers acquired Leandro Barbosa from Toronto on March 15.

NOTES: The Suns are 10-4 since the All-Star break, second-best record since that point behind the Chicago Bulls, who are 12-2. . The Pacers are 10-4 against teams from the West this season. . The Suns have won four straight against the Pacers. This game was the first and only meeting between the two teams this season. The Suns' game against the Pacers means the Suns have played every single team in the league now this season.

Notebook: Suns 113, Pacers 111

Posted Friday March 23, 2012 11:30PM

By Conrad Brunner, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Frequently the smallest player on the floor, usually one of the oldest, Steve Nash also reminded the Indiana Pacers he also is one of the best. The Phoenix point guard simply took over the game in the second half, scoring all 12 of his points and producing 10 of his 17 assists to carry the Suns to a 113-111 road victory over the Pacers Friday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Danny Granger scored 28 for Indiana, including seven in the final 22 seconds as the home team trimmed a five-point deficit to one but Nash either scored or assisted on the Suns' final 10 points, including a pair of free throws that made it 113-110 with 10 seconds left. Marcin Gortat scored 23 and Grant Hill 22 for the Suns (24-24), who snapped a two-game losing streak. Roy Hibbert had 19 points for the Pacers (27-19), who ended a two-game win streak.

QUOTABLE: "I thought we were a lot grittier and played with more energy and came up with more loose balls (in the second half). A huge win for us. We got some good feelings back. We got some confidence back."
- Nash

THE STAT: Phoenix has gone 10-4 since the All-Star break, the second-best record in the league (to Chicago).

TURNING POINT: Indiana scored the final nine points of the second quarter to take a 61-54 lead into the break but the Suns seized momentum behind Nash in the third quarter, closing with an 18-7 run to take an 86-79 lead into the fourth. Indiana threatened but never could wrest the lead from the visitors.

QUOTABLE II: "We didn't do a good enough job getting the ball out of Nash's hands tonight. He just controlled the whole game. He controlled us defensively and was able to make play after play for those guys with the ball in his hands."
- Indiana's David West

HOT: Gortat shot 8-of-13 and Hill 9-of-16 for the Suns, who hit 49 percent. Granger was 9-of-13 overall, 4-of-4 from the arc and 6-of-6 from the line for the Pacers, while Hibbert shot 7 of 12.

NOT: Former Phoenix sixth man Leandro Barbosa shot 2-of-10 for the Pacers.

QUOTABLE III: "To come in and be able to win in this arena is just a great win for us. They have a lot of great young players, Paul George and Granger. I told someone today that I'm amazed as to where Roy Hibbert has come. Where he started and where he is now ... I don't know if I've ever seen that much improvement in one, two or even three years in the league."
- Suns Coach Alvin Gentry

GOOD MOVE: George nearly sent the game to overtime with a brilliant play at the buzzer. After making one the first of two free throws with 1.7 seconds left, he intentionally missed the second, and then chased down the offensive rebound. He quickly flipped the ball toward the rim as time expired but it fell short.

BAD MOVE: Indiana Coach Frank Vogel was upset with the officiating much of the night but lost control in the fourth quarter, picking up a technical with 5:11 remaining, and then another with 1:56 to go to draw an ejection. Phoenix's two free throws as a result of those technicals equaled the final margin.

NOTABLE: Indiana's Dahntay Jones picked up his fourth technical foul of the season protesting a call in the second quarter. Nash also picked up a second-quarter tech. ... Kyrylo Fesenko, the 7-1, 280-pound center from Ukraine signed just prior to the game, was not in uniform. He is not expected to play Saturday in Milwaukee. Coach Frank Vogel said before the game he did not expect Fesenko to supplant anyone currently in the rotation but that he would provide depth and a matchup option against bigger, stronger centers. ... Fesenko fills the roster void created by Jeff Foster's retirement earlier this week. ... The Oak Ridge Boys of country music fame sang the national anthem.

UP NEXT: For the Pacers, Saturday @ Milwaukee, Monday vs. Miami, Wednesday @ New Jersey. For the Suns, Sunday @ Cleveland, Tuesday vs. San Antonio, Wednesday @ L.A. Clippers.

• Suns: --
• Pacers: Fesenko, Foster

• Suns: Nash
• Pacers: Jones, Vogel, Vogel

• Lead Changes: 13
• Times Tied: 10

• Arena: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
• Officials: #43 Dan Crawford, #30 John Goble, #73 Tre Maddox
• Attendance: 14786
• Duration: 2:27