The Los Angeles Clippers pulled off a Game 1 road win against the Phoenix Suns despite not having Paul George in the lineup. With how important it is to steal an away game in the NBA playoffs, Kawhi Leonard and Co. achieved that mark from the start.
Leonard set the tone for the Clippers with 38 points, making him the game’s leading scorer by a substantial margin. Eric Gordon, acquired at the NBA trade deadline, delivered 19 points. However, Russell Westbrook caught the attention of many, recording 9 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists on the night.
A poor start from the Suns put them in a position to trail 30-18 after the opening period. Durant was held without a point, and Phoenix shot 31.8 percent from the floor. For a team with such high expectations, the shorthanded opposition, without Paul George, was playing free.
“We definitely would like to have better starts but sometimes that happens,” Durant said. “It is all about how you bounce back from it.”
The Suns had used a 15-0 run to pull ahead of the Clippers 70-68 midway through the third quarter. Los Angeles stayed poised knowing that Phoenix was bound to rip off a substantial run given they are a talented team playing on its home floor in a playoff opener.
“They’re going to make a run at home, we understood that,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “We built a lead, they made a run, and now we’ve got to keep our composure and be ready to fight back. I thought everyone who played tonight was great.”
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers & Phoenix Suns Updates
Leonard scored 12 points in the third quarter to help the Clippers tie it up 81-81 to right the ship after the Suns’ big run. The Suns nearly rallied back after trailing 109-103 with 1:33 left in the final period by pulling off a 5-0 run. Phoenix was unable to close out a defensive possession numerous times as the Clippers hauled in a pair of offensive rebounds that ultimately led to a successful trip to the free throw line for Westbrook.
“My whole career, I pride myself every season on doing everything,” Westbrook said. “Whatever is needed of me to win the game, I’ll do it.”
Westbrook, who overcame a 3-19 shooting night, made no shortage of key hustle and defensive plays down the stretch of the game, including a block that ended in a deflection off Devin Booker to retain possession for the Clippers with 10.1 seconds left in regulation.
“Making winning plays, getting deflections on balls, offensive rebounding, getting us into our sets — that is playoff basketball,” Leonard said of Westbrook. “You might not have the best night shooting, but you’ve got to impact the game some type of way and he did that tonight.”
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers & Phoenix Suns Updates
The Suns are still working through the chemistry-building process while not benefiting from having a great supporting cast around their superstars. Durant was a non-factor late as he was often not being involved in actions or initiating the possession. He took one shot in the fourth quarter.
“We understand it is not going to be easy,” Booker said. “It gets harder from here. Thinking back to my first (playoffs), every loss is the worst thing ever and every win you are going to win the rest of them. That’s just how the playoffs go.”
A clear emphasis from the Clippers was to dare Torrey Craig to beat them by “guarding” him with Ivica Zubac. Craig did finish with 22 points on 9-12 shooting from the floor, but Chris Paul’s poor offensive performance was too much to overcome. Paul was contained to 7 points on just 2-8 from the floor, but totaled 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
Devin Booker did rack up 26 points with a strong scoring efficiency, but neither he nor Durant took over the game when their team needed them to do so. Going forward, Phoenix needs its top players more in attack mode late.
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