Suns continue cultivating Devin Booker’s growth in loss to Pacers

PHOENIX — Stacking the bricks to their foundation, flaws and all, continued for the Phoenix Suns.

They got behind the Indiana Pacers early, fought back, took a lead and couldn’t make plays late in a 109-104 loss Tuesday at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

It was one missed play that stood out in the big picture. But not because it was a mistake.

That play wasn’t T.J. Warren helping off shooter Bojan Bogdanovic, who hit a go-ahead three with 31 seconds left to break a 104-all tie. And that’s still the case considering the Suns’ perimeter defense made it a trend all night to leave the Pacers’ best shooters open.

The biggest play was Suns guard Devin Booker responding to Bogdanovic’s make. With 18 seconds left, Booker attempted a contested, fall-away three that swirled off the rim, effectively ending Phoenix’s chances.

Phoenix’s players and coach Igor Kokoskov didn’t blame the miss — or the shot selection — for the loss. In that, they continued building up what’s been a season of growth for their franchise star.

“We want him to develop that superstar mentality, that every shot is a good shot for him. Also, just to keep other guys involved,” Kokoskov said.

The Suns put the loss on a sluggish first half, one that Kokoskov worried about coming off a long road trip and after watching a Victor Oladipo-lacking Indiana team blow out the Utah Jazz a night prior.

On Tuesday, the Suns were tied with the Pacers coming out of the first quarter break. Phoenix’s bench lineup of Isaiah Canaan, Jamal Crawford, Trevor Ariza, Josh Jackson and Richaun Holmes was outscored 18-8 before Kokoskov could sub a trio of starters back in.

That put the Suns in a hole.

But the bigger challenge came in climbing out of it while managing Booker’s minutes — all while making it a teaching moment for him on a difficult night.

“That’s going to be (a) battle and that’s going to be (a) question we discuss after a lot of games,” Kokoskov said. “We ask for a lot. He definitely felt them tonight.”

Booker scored 20 points but went 7-of-21 from the field. He recorded eight assists to five turnovers.

Seven of those assists and four of the turnovers came before halftime, but Indiana only got more aggressive with Booker in the second half.

The Pacers clamped down on heavy Booker pick-and-roll action through most of the third quarter, holding him without an assist.

Eventually, the Suns began swinging the ball crosscourt. Warren picked up the slack, cutting from the weak side and getting in transition, scoring twice from Jackson assists. Warren scored nine points in the third and eight more in the fourth quarter to finish with 25, and the bench unit gave Booker enough of a breather to save his legs enough to give the Suns a chance.

Indiana led 77-64 with 4:36 left to play in the third quarter, but Phoenix’s 18-4 run mostly with its bench unit, plus Warren, put the home team ahead by four points just two minutes into the fourth.

“We finally put a resistance on them in the second half where we were letting them find other shots other than the little pocket pass off the pick-and-roll or downhill layup,” center Deandre Ayton said.

“They kept on being aggressive and kept on executing.”

When those easy buckets at the rim were shut off, the Pacers opened another water valve on Phoenix’s defense.

During the second-quarter Pacers run, Indiana sniper Doug McDermott got a wide-open three before a Suns timeout and followed it up with another afterward. McDermott hit 5-of-7 from three on the night and tied backup center Domantas Sabonis for a team-high of 21 points.

Later in the last minute of the game, it was Warren helping to cut off a drive that allowed Bogdanovic to let it fly for the lead.

Kokoskov said the game tape would provide answers for Phoenix allowing Indiana to shoot 42 percent (11-of-26) from beyond the arc.

The underlying theme afterward was about playing a full game. And helping Booker navigate when to pass, when to score and to never second-guess the latter.

“We battled. We (gave) ourselves a chance to come back,” Kokoskov said. “I would say that when it comes to the last shot, you don’t put anything on the last shot. It went in and out.”

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