The Pacers Summer League squad took the court for the final time this year, squaring off against the Phoenix Suns at Thomas & Mack Center. The Sunday matinee gave several players one last chance to showcase their talents to NBA front offices, scouts, and beyond.
Unfortunately, the Pacers could not pull off the win. Despite several open looks, the team struggled to make shots consistently. Indiana finished 24-of-72 (33.3 percent) from the floor, including 6-of-36 (16.7 percent) from deep, en route to an 84-69 defeat. No Pacers finished in double figures. David DiLeo and Jermaine Samuels Jr. finished as the team's highest scorers with eight points each. Louis King finished with a game-high 14 points for Phoenix.
"I think they just dictated on both sides of the court," said Andrew Nembhard (two points, five assists). "We weren't really together offensively. We didn't really play together as much as we could have."
"They played our game better than we played our game," added head coach Ronald Nored.
It was a quiet start for the Blue & Gold, who started the game 0-for-6 from the floor. Phoenix got out to a 7-0 lead before Kendall Brown tallied a transition layup at the 6:33 mark. The Pacers' defense, however, was stellar in the opening minutes. The squad forced six Phoenix turnovers over the initial 4:34 of the frame.
But Indiana's shooting woes continued to haunt the squad. An Aaron Nesmith three at the 5:40 mark provided the only Pacers points over the next 2:25. Meanwhile, the Suns produced a string of seven unanswered points to earn a 17-5 lead with 3:33 left in the first. A pair of Fanbo Zeng free throws at the 3:15 mark stopped the Pacers' scoring drought and trimmed the deficit to 10.
Later, the Pacers got some offense from former Vanderbilt forward Simi Shittu. The Canadian managed four straight points to cut Indiana's lead to 17-11 with 31.1 seconds remaining.
However, the Suns made three free throws in the final 30 seconds to take a 9-point edge into the second quarter.
Interior buckets from Tevin Brown, DiLeo, and Shittu appeared to break Indiana out of its slump. But the Suns countered with eight points, including two triples, to hold a 28-17 advantage as the game approached the halfway mark of the second quarter.
However, Indiana found a way to climb back. DiLeo notched six points of a 10-0 run to cut Phoenix's lead to 28-27 with 3:14 remaining. The Central Michigan product nailed the team's second 3-pointer of the game off an Eli Brooks dish. He then added three free throws after being fouled on another 3-point attempt.
Yet, Phoenix kept its lead down the stretch, outscoring Indiana 6-3 over the final 2:06. Indiana trailed 34-30 at halftime.
The Suns used a 10-0 run over the first 2:18 of the third to extend their lead to 14. Bennie Boatwright finally stopped the run with a tough driving finish in the paint.
The Blue & Gold found a bit of a spark near the midway mark of the period. With Phoenix leading 48-34, Nate Hinton hit a tough fadeaway jumper over his defender with the shot clock expiring. From there, Nembhard and Brown worked the interior to further cut into the deficit. With 4:24 left, Brown powered home a two-handed slam to force a Phoenix timeout. The bucket brought Indiana within single digits of the lead (51-42).
Unfortunately for Indiana, the Suns quickly recovered. Tyson Carter tallied eight points of a 10-2 Phoenix run that extended their lead to 64-46 with 1:45 left. The Blue & Gold managed just two more points through the remainder of the frame and trailed by 16 entering the fourth quarter.
Phoenix swiftly elevated its lead to 23 before Tevin Brown hit a triple at the 7:33 mark for Indiana's first points of the frame. However, the bucket did little to push Indiana out of its game-long shooting struggles.
Although the game got out of hand, Brown managed to add to his personal highlight reel. After Nesmith forced a steal and sprinted down the court, he found Brown beside him with a bounce pass. Brown obliged and finished with a thunderous slam with 3:49 left.
While Pacers fans surely wanted to see their team grab another win, they should still be excited to see where this rookie class can progress.
"It was such a great group to coach, to be around," said Nored. "We had a lot of fun over the two weeks we were together."
"We got a lot to be excited about in Indy. (Andrew) Nembhard with the way he pushes the pace, the physicality he plays with defensively. We saw what (Bennedict Mathurin) did in the couple games he played, his ability to score. And Kendall (Brown), his athleticism and 'infectious-ness' on the team. We got a lot to be excited about."