T.J. Warren got his revenge when Pacers last played the Suns

T.J. Warren’s revenge game against the Phoenix Suns was an incredible moment for him and the Indiana Pacers.

Originally, the Indiana Pacers were scheduled to face off against the Phoenix Suns for the second and final time of the season on Monday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. That game has been postponed, and it’s unclear if it will ever happen, as the remainder of the 2019-20 NBA season is up in the air with COVID-19’s global impact taking hold of society.

It’s relatively relieving, though, that the Pacers already played their lone game in Phoenix this season. Not only was it a huge road win for the Pacers, but it was a big moment for T.J. Warren, who has been a spectacular performer for the Pacers all year long.

Warren, the former lottery pick who has spent time in the G League was sent off to the Pacers for essentially cap space this past summer. Warren and a draft pick were sent to Indiana for cash consideration, a deal that also brought the Pacers 3 second-round draft picks from the Miami Heat (who received KZ Okpala from Phoenix in the 3-team deal).

While Warren was being moved to a more competitive team and going to be offered a clear role in the rotation, it has to be frustrating to see your value boiled down to that of simply indefinite cap space. Cap space is useful for all teams, but strong trade assets always yield something clear and direct in return.

At the time, the deal was considered to be laughable and unfair, in favor of the Pacers, by much of the NBA landscape. The Suns are viewed as a relatively incompetent franchise in many ways, this trade being a very clear example of that.

Still, Warren was setting out to a new city with a likely mission to prove that trade even more wrong.

Prove it wrong he has. Per 36 minutes he’s averaging almost as many points as his fourth-year season and having his best shooting season from the field at 52.9 percent, mainly by adjusting his shot profile within the Pacers system, taking fewer shots beyond the arc.

His defining moment for the year, though, has to be that against his former team on their own floor. Revenge games are always exciting, but usually, they feel a bit more high-stakes than that of a mid-January matchup between the Suns and Pacers.

Warren led both teams in scoring with 25 points, which would also be the difference in points scored between Indiana and Phoenix. While he didn’t attempt a single three, he was 11 of 18 from the field and tacked on 3 rebounds, 3 steals, and a block to his stat line, turning the ball over just once.

Perhaps the strongest thing he provided in that game — as has been the case with Warren many times this year — was his defense, though.

One of Warren’s primary matchups throughout the night was Devin Booker. Warren matched up with Booker for a little over 5 minutes total, holding him to 25 percent shooting from the field and zero attempted threes.

Two of Booker’s four points, while Warren was guarding him, came at the free-throw line off of a fast break opportunity. Warren also forced two Booker turnovers.

Notably, Booker’s streak of four straight games with 29 or more points was ended in this matchup with Warren and the Pacers.

While it was a team effort between Jeremy Lamb, Malcolm Brogdon and Warren to dampen Booker’s impact, they held him to 16 points, far below his 26.1 points per game average.

We won’t get to see the Pacers or Warren face off with Phoenix for the foreseeable future as we thought we would on Monday night, but Warren’s performance in mid-January against his former team was enjoyable, even if it didn’t get the treatment that most revenge games do.