Only one winning streak can continue as Suns host Pacers

The Phoenix Suns take aim at achieving their second-longest winning streak of the season when they host the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night.The Suns are looking for a third consecutive victory. Their best stretch was a seven-game winning streak that improved their record to 8-1.Phoenix then dropped 10 of its next 14 games before winning its last two games.Of course, Kevin Durant has missed time with two different injuries and the Suns are just 1-9 when he doesn’t play.Durant averaged 25 points and 7.5 assists in victories over the Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers prior to this game.Devin Booker scored 28 points in Sunday’s 116-109 win over the visiting Trail Blazers, but Tyus Jones might have delivered the most impressive offensive performance.Jones scored 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting while starting in place of Bradley Beal (knee).Jones is averaging 16.8 points and shooting 56.3 percent from the field in six December outings.With Jones being a playmaker-first player, opposing teams don’t always lock down on him on the offensive end.”With the gravity that KD, Book, and Brad create, everyone else is getting open looks,” Jones told reporters. “So, just being ready to fire ‘em and knock ‘em down.”He also shouldn’t have too much pressure to perform at a high level on Thursday, as Beal is listed as probable after missing the past two games.Like Jones, Royce O’Neale has picked up his offense in December by averaging 16.3 points over six games. He has made five 3-pointers three times during the stretch and four on another occasion.”They understand that teams are gonna load up on me, Kev and Brad and they’re making them pay for it,” Booker said of Jones and O’Neale. “That’s what we worked on every day in practice. We talk about that spacing.”Phoenix had beaten the Pacers five straight times until Indiana took the second of two January meetings last season.The Pacers are looking for their second three-game winning streak of the season. They beat the Washington Wizards, New Orleans Pelicans and Portland Trail Blazers in succession at home in the last week of November.