Indiana @ Phoenix preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 7, 2016 ) Indiana 109, Phoenix 94

The Indiana Pacers are winners of three of four since Victor Oladipo returned to the lineup and overcame a 22-point deficit to knock off the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday. The Pacers will try to avoid a similar hole when they hit the road for a five-game trip against Western Conference teams beginning at the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.

"Huge team win," Oladipo told reporters after Friday's triumph. "We've just got to continue to keep building on it. We grinded it out. We (were) down, we stayed with it, fought through adversity. We showed a little resilience and we've just got to keep going." Oladipo has seen his minutes increase in each of the four games since his return and logged 40 on Friday while contributing 19 points, including a 3-pointer down the stretch that gave Indiana the lead for good. The Suns have their own hot shooting guard in Devin Booker, but are losers of three of their last four and are trying to get more consistent performances out of the other young players on the roster. Phoenix managed to limit the Houston Rockets to 41.5 percent shooting on Friday but committed 19 turnovers and could not keep pace in a 112-95 setback.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS Indiana, FS Arizona (Phoenix)

ABOUT THE PACERS (22-20): Indiana swingman Lance Stephenson collected 16 points and 11 rebounds on Friday, but it was his willingness to guard and irritate Cleveland star LeBron James that may have been the difference in the game. Stephenson baited James into a technical foul and helped force him into five turnovers in the victory. "It's great because you know the coaches are challenging you and it's tough to guard LeBron," Stephenson told reporters. "So, whoever has the guts to go into him and play him hard, I figured this is the game you can do it. It just happened to be on our side and we got the win."

ABOUT THE SUNS (16-27): Phoenix is trying to give Booker a larger role in the offense and take advantage of some of his playmaking abilities, but the 21-year-old budding star paired nine assists with nine turnovers in Friday's loss. Booker is averaging 5.8 turnovers in five games this month and committed at least five in five of eight games since returning from a strained adductor that kept him out three weeks. The Suns are starting to get an uptick in production from 20-year-old power forward Dragan Bender, who followed a career-high 20 points in a win over Oklahoma City last Sunday with 14 points and eight rebounds against the Rockets.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Suns PG Isaiah Canaan (groin) sat out the last three games but is nearing a return.

2. Pacers C Myles Turner (elbow) missed the last two contests and is day-to-day.

3. Indiana won in each of its last two trips to Phoenix, including a 109-94 triumph last season in which Turner scored 20 points.

PREDICTION: Pacers 113, Suns 106