Indiana Pacers vs. Phoenix Suns Pick & Prediction JANUARY 26th 2024

The Phoenix Suns acquired guard Bradley Beal in June, but the team struggled while the three-time All-Star missed 24 of the season’s first 30 games due to injury.

Now fully healthy, Beal is a main reason behind the Suns’ rapid climb up the Western Conference standings. Phoenix has won seven straight games heading into a matchup against the Indiana Pacers on Friday in Indianapolis.

Indiana is looking to build on an impressive 134-122 home win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday. Pascal Siakam posted his sixth career triple-double with 26 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in the victory.

Siakam faces another tough test against Phoenix and its big three of Beal, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. The Suns dominated the second half of a 132-109 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.

The victory marked the start of a seven-game road trip for Phoenix, which has won 12 of its past 15 games.

Booker scored 46 points to lead the Suns on Wednesday. Dallas led by 16 points in the second quarter before Phoenix stormed back and outscored the Mavericks 43-20 in the third period.

“With us healthy, we’re a very dynamic team,” Beal said. “We get after it defensively, and offensively it’s a smooth show. It’s a smooth rhythm. We get stops and it makes our game that much easier. It’s everything I envisioned and more.”

Durant was held to 12 points in the win, but Suns coach Frank Vogel said the veteran still had a major impact on the game.

“That’s the beauty of this win,” Vogel said of Durant, who was selected to his 14th All-Star Game on Thursday. “Kevin Durant scores 12 points. He had 10 boards, seven assists and he’s perfectly fine scoring just 12 points because we got the W, and we got it in convincing fashion.

“He really trusts his teammates. (Dallas’) defensive game plan was to double-team him, and he just welcomes that and says it’s going to be my night to get everyone else more shots. That’s the beauty of what Kevin Durant is doing for our team.”

The Suns have won their last five meetings against Indiana, including a 117-110 victory on Sunday in Phoenix. Durant scored 40 points in the win, while Booker added 26 and Beal had 25.

The Pacers will be without point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who was named an All-Star starter on Thursday. Haliburton (strained left hamstring) will miss his fourth straight game.

Siakam helped fill the void on Thursday with a dominant performance in his fourth game since being acquired from the Toronto Raptors.

“He sees the floor well and plays with a lot of passion and energy,” Pacers center Myles Turner said. “He fits right into our mold, and it’s been fun to see him just slowly find his way here.”

Turner had 20 points and nine rebounds against the Sixers as he continues to be more assertive on the offensive end.

“I’ve just been aggressive lately, and I think that’s the way I’ve got to play,” Turner said. “I feel like too many times in the past I passed up a lot of opportunities. … I’m very confident in my game, and I put in way too much work not to at least get some looks up.”

–Field Level Media