Devin Booker on being surrounded by young players on Suns
Devin Booker, once a young phenom, is now a veteran surrounded by young players: “It’s a lot of jokes.”
Who would’ve guessed before the 2025-26 season began what the Phoenix Suns would be cooking right now?
Devin Booker calls it “something special.”
Sure smells like it.
The Suns won their fifth straight game in dominant fashion, 133-98, over the Indiana Pacers on Thursday, Nov. 13, before a sellout crowd of 17,071 at Mortgage Matchup Center.
Phoenix (8-5) started the season 1-4, lacking the defensive presence they vowed to display and turning the ball over at will in losing four straight games. The Suns have gone 7-1 since to have the second-best winning percentage in the league since Oct. 31. Only the 10-2 Detroit Pistons are better at 7-0.
From Thursday night:
“I know it was big night for the Suns fans with the Valley jerseys again and the court out there. There was a special energy tonight and we all felt it.”
Devin Booker after Suns 133-98 win over Pacers at Mortgage Matchup Center.
“We have something… pic.twitter.com/UBznvYNyrH
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) November 14, 2025
Phoenix is 11th in offensive rating and defensive rating during this stretch. The Suns registered their second-highest point total of the season in defeating the Pacers (1-11), who shot just 36.4%, the lowest field-goal shooting percentage Phoenix has allowed this season.
The Suns improved to 3-0 when holding teams under 100 points. No other NBA team has done that this season.
“We keep playing this way, unselfish, get guys healthy, keep this run going, we’ll be in a good spot come New Year,” Suns forward Dillon Brooks said.
Here are takeaways as the Suns (8-5) have a couple of days in between games before facing the Atlanta Hawks (8-5) Sunday, Nov. 16, at home.
Booker, Brooks lead the way; Allen injured
Phoenix opened the season playing 13 games in 23 days.
“It’s been tough,” Booker said. “I know I didn’t have a lot of juice coming in, but I was looking around the locker room and everybody was ready to go. Kind of revived me.”
Revival indeed.
Booker posted his seventh 30-point game of the season, scoring a game-high 33 points in 28 minutes and Brooks registered a season-high 32 in 29 minutes with 24 coming in the first half.
Phoenix led by as many as 46 points.
The Suns lost Grayson Allen to a right quad contusion after taking a knee from Pacers big Jay Huff.
Scoring 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting in just 12 minutes after churning out 65 points total in his last two games, Allen didn’t play in the second half as he walked with a noticeable limp while leaving the arena after the game.
“I don’t think it’s anything serious,” Suns coach Jordan Ott said.
The Suns won without starters Mark Williams and Jalen Green.
Williams sat out the second of a back-to-back for the second time this season with right knee injury management, while Green will be re-evaluated in four to six weeks with a right hamstring strain.
Ighodaro’s historic plus-52
This game is filled with wild numbers, with this being the wildest one of them all.
Oso Ighodaro posted a plus-52 to mark the highest plus/minus for a Suns player in the play-by-play era and tied as the third-best for an NBA player in the play-by-play era. The plus/minus figure basically represents how effective a player is while on the court based on point differential.
“I thought it was a typo,” Ott said.
Ighodaro scored a career-high 17 points to go along with seven rebounds, three blocks and three steals, also a career best.
“Felt like I was going after winning,” Ighodaro said. “That’s been my focus the last four, five games. Not worrying about stats. Not worrying about anything like that. Just trying to impact the game in a positive way.”
“Yeah, they brought it up to me.”
Oso Ighodaro on Suns teammates noting his +52 in 133-98 win over Pacers.
The +52 is the highest plus/minus by a Suns player in the play-by-play era and tied for third highest by any NBA player in the play-by-play era.
Career-high 17 points.… pic.twitter.com/ePWTEDIhad
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) November 14, 2025
How ironic is it, Ighodaro says he wasn’t worried about stats, but the Suns center made history in stuffing the box score with numbers in Phoenix’s widest margin of victory this season.
“I haven’t really looked at plus/minus,” Brooks said. “I just look at wins, but Oso played well on both sides. Created turnovers. Ran the floor, rewarded him. Giving our guards and myself a break by bringing the ball up, making plays.”
Always on “the critique,” as he says, Brooks noted Ighodaro going 3-of-5 from the line.
With an improved shooting form that’s still a work in progress, Ighodaro came into the game shooting 4-of-9 on free throws.
“That’s better than usual,” Brooks said.
Things get chippy for Suns, Pacers
Brooks is always all about the smoke from the opening tip, but he had extra incentive to bring his edge in the second of a back-to-back.
“I knew we needed energy coming from Dallas,” Brooks said.
Brooks believed the Suns would “start picking it up” in the second quarter.
Pretty good pregame assessment.
The Suns outscored the Pacers, 39-29, in the second quarter building a 70-52 halftime lead with the two teams tied at 2-2 in technical fouls at the break.
Pacers guard T.J. McConnell and Brooks had a flare-up that led to double technical fouls.
Security stood between McConnell and the Suns’ bench as the former University of Arizona standout and Brooks exchanged words in the first quarter.
Pacers All-Star Pascal Siakam and Suns forward Royce O’Neale each drew technical fouls after O’Neale fouled Siakam, who fell hard to the floor on a drive.
O’Neale got into Siakam’s face, pressing his head up against Siakam, a move that led Siakam to rake his fist across the face of O’Neale, who pushed him back in reaction.
This all happened after Booker and Pacers guard Aaron Nesmith exchanged words in the first quarter after Nesmith was called for a foul and Booker went down.
The play was reviewed for a hostile act. It remained a common foul, but these two teams are similar creatures in terms of playing hard and with aggression.
“It’s up to them. I start it out always. I raise the level of play. We find out if you want to play like that or play in your own game, but I knew we needed energy coming from Dallas.”
Dillon Brooks on chippy game vs. Pacers as Suns won 133-98 in second of back-to-back.
Four… pic.twitter.com/HrFkQyHFKn
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) November 14, 2025
The Suns won that battle, too.
“There’s been a few instances like that this year,” Booker said. “That’s what I like about our team. We can quickly move on and continue playing. I don’t think that’s everybody’s play style, but we have guys over here like obviously Dillon, Jordan Goodwin that feed into that. We’ve been good at responding after any type of altercation this year.”
The Suns responded with a 21-4 run to take a 104-77 lead late in the third.
“It got to that point, after that, things settled, gap broadened and there was no more of that,” Ott said.
Injuries riddling Pacers
The Pacers are a shell of themselves right now from the team that reached the 2025 NBA Finals.
Not only will the Pacers miss Tyrese Haliburton the entire season with a right Achilles tear he suffered in Game 7 of the finals, they’re also down Bennedict Mathurin (right great toe sprain), Obi Toppin (right foot stress fracture) and Johnny Furphy (left ankle sprain).
Toppin is expected to be sidelined for at least three months after having surgery. Even with veteran big Myles Turner going to Milwaukee, the Pacers are a playoff team if healthy.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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