On the second night of a brutal back-to-back, the L.A. Clippers (29-31) pushed the regular season’s best to the brink before falling late, 103-96, on the road to the Phoenix Suns (47-10). Marcus Morris Sr. tallied a team-high 23 points (10-17 FG, 3-6 3PT) and four rebounds. Ivica Zubac double-doubled midway through the third quarter with 12 points (5-9 FG, 2-3 FT), 13 rebounds and five assists. Nicolas Batum was phenomenal in just 25 minutes, clocking in 18 points (7-14 FG, 4-8 3PT), seven rebounds and two blocks. Keeping up his unreal play over the last 10 games, Chris Paul put up 17 points, five rebounds and 14 assists to lead the Suns to their sixth-straight win. Read on for our full Clippers vs. Suns game recap.
Summary
For the second night in a row, it was a highly entertaining opening frame as the Clippers came out as sharp as can be. Aside from Marcus Morris Sr. taking a shot to the face and having to check out momentarily, everything went about as according to plan for Tyronn Lue and co. The Clips put size on Chris Paul and Devin Booker with Terance Mann and Nicolas Batum defensively and looked to attack them whenever they could on the other end. Deandre Ayton missed numerous point-blank looks while getting worked by Reggie Jackson and Ivica Zubac pick-and-rolls. Speaking of Zu, he was terrific in the first, flirting with a double-double already and making great reads in drop coverage. Meanwhile, after going 5 of 22 last time out against LAC, Booker made up for the lost time in a hurry with a game-high 13 in the first. After one, the Clippers led 26-22.
Tonight, the Clippers played their 60th game of the season. Per Clippers PR midway through the second quarter, LAC will tie a league-record 61 games played before the All-Star break when they meet Houston on Thursday. Considering the Clippers were also already coming in on the second end of a back-to-back, their fatigue really started to show in the second quarter. In the frame alone, the LAC reserves combined for 0-for-4 from the field. To top that off, Mann and Reggie Jackson, who each played 38+ last night, combined for 3 of 16 shooting in the first half. As such, with the Clips’ offense sputtering, and Phoenix’s allotment of speedy guards in Aaron Holiday, Elfrid Payton and, eventually, Paul burning Isaiah Hartenstein defensively, the Suns evaporated their deficit in no time. As Phoenix questionably turned up the physicality to 100%, the Clippers’ cold shooting and turnovers amounted to them also having many lower-quality defensive rotations, especially as CP3 looked to attack. Not all was lost, however, as just like in Game 5 of the conference finals, Morris Sr.’s difficult shot-making single-handedly kept Los Angeles within striking distance. At the half, the Suns were up 53-47.
While the Clippers have been prone to first-quarter explosions as of late, their latest pressure test came in the third as Mikal Bridges and Booker combined for 22 of Phoenix’s 28 points in the period. The third started off with a valiant effort from LA, who somehow collectively amped up the defensive intensity back up to take a 66-64 lead with 5:36 left. From that point on, however, the LAC offense faltered to yet another standstill as the Suns ran out on a 17-2 run. In the closing moments of the period, some solid plays from Luke Kennard, Robert Covington and Amir Coffey, fortunately, stabilized things a bit as the Suns took an 81-72 advantage to the fourth.
Coming in with a monstrous 35-0 record when leading after the third, as well a 24-5 mark at home this season, the fresh Suns starters took their play to another gear to fend off the Clippers 22-24 in the fourth. Out of the gates against an all-bench Phoenix lineup, Kennard and RoCo made play after play on both ends to spark an 8-0 Clipper run and force Monty Williams to signal for time. However, with the score at 90 up with 4:59 to play, Paul’s fingerprints were left all over this one. Knocking down a 3 to break the tie, hitting Ayton for a lob, Booker for a lob, nailing his patented middy and hitting Bridges for a dagger triple, CP3 saw out and made every play necessary for the Suns down the stretch.
Clippers vs. Suns Game Notes
- The Gameplan: Before the game, Ty Lue mentioned that he wasn’t necessarily looking to force Phoenix (3rd in the league in TO%) to make mistakes, but more so hoping to see a fixated effort on offensive rebounding and transition defense. Well, his group gave him those two gameday keys and then some. The Clippers outrebounded the Suns 13-12 on the offensive glass, lost the fastbreak points battle just 15-19 and forced Phoenix to cough it up five times in the fourth and 16 times overall — their most since Feb. 1.
- The Bad: Easily the biggest part of LAC’s downfall was, unfortunately, perhaps something they could not control. Shooting 41% from the field and 29% from deep, highlighted by Reggie Jackson’s 7 of 26, the Clippers just could not will in the “kill” shots necessary in a hostile environment such as Footprint Center. With the available personnel on-hand at the moment, you kind of have to play an exhausted Mr. June these large minutes because of his ability to be the catalyst on offense.
- The Good: Watching this game, it truly pained me to think about how Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Norman Powell are supposed to be out there with this group. From Zubac outdueling Ayton, to Morris Sr. and Kennard shooting lights out and Batum and Covington wreaking havoc defensively, tonight’s performance showcased once again just how stacked the Clippers’ supporting cast is.
Up Next: The Clippers will finish off their pre-All-Star break schedule by hosting the Houston Rockets at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday, Feb. 17, at 7:30 p.m. PT.
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