Funny thing about the Indiana Pacers, they have all kinds of difficulty against the mediocre-to-bad teams in the NBA, yet they somehow manage to beat some of the elite teams.  Teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics – teams they have no business defeating – have fallen victim to the Pacers.  Wednesday night’s opponent for Indiana was another upper-tier team in the Phoenix Suns.  This matchup was arguably one of the better games on the NBA docket this Wednesday as both teams shared leads throughout; however, things went quiet at US Airways Center when Danny Granger hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer, allowing Indiana to upset Phoenix 113-110.

The Suns got off to a horrible start as they hit only one of their first 12 shots in the first 7:44 of the opening quarter and the Pacers took advantage; Granger scored 19 points in the first half – including three 3-pointers – while Indiana built a 42-27 cushion in the second quarter.  But Phoenix, with the help of Amare Stoudemire, fought back and reduced their deficit to 61-57 at halftime.

The Pacers came out hot in the third quarter, with Troy Murphy hitting 4 treys, as they twice held a 16-point lead; the Suns did, however, manage to reduce their deficit to 95-86 going into the fourth quarter.  Fast-forwarding to the late stages of the game, Granger tied the game at 110 with a jumper with 34.9 second left in the game; the Pacers’ Mike Dunleavy would inbound the ball to Granger and he would hit the game-winner at the buzzer.

Six Pacers scored in double-figures, led by Granger with 37 points (including 5 treys), 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals and a blocked shot while Dunleavy added 14 with 2 rebounds, 4 assists and a blocked shot.  Phoenix was led by Stoudemire with 23 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals while Grant Hill and Leandro Barbosa added 18 each – with Hill grabbing 6 rebounds and dishing out an assist while Barbosa grabbed 3 rebounds and dished out 3 assists.

Jason Richardson and Steve Nash each scored 16 – with Richardson grabbing 10 rebounds, dishing out an assist along with a steal while Nash grabbed 4 rebounds and dished out 12 assists; Louis Amundson grabbed 14 boards in a losing effort.  Indiana (13-22) plays again on Friday as they continue their Western road trip; they go to Los Angeles to face the Lakers while Phoenix (19-13) will host the Dallas Mavericks – also on Friday.