BATTLE BEGINS
Clippers, George put up fight against Suns, but Booker has his first triple-double
PHOENIX » After waiting 50-plus seasons to make their Western Conference finals debut, the Clippers had to go rushing into the prestigious series Sunday, tasked with traveling to Phoenix to face the second-seeded Suns fewer than 48 hours after Friday’s thrilling Game 6 closeout comeback against top-seeded Utah.
With All-NBA contributors Kawhi Leonard and Chris Paul out with injury and because of health and safety protocols, respectively, the duel that took center stage featured their co-stars, Paul George and Devin Booker.
Like Luka Doncic and Donovan Mitchell had in their battles with the Clippers this postseason, Booker became the latest young star to win the first one as his Suns took Game 1 of the bestof-seven series, 120-114.
Now the Clippers find themselves behind for the third time in as many series this postseason – they’ll try to avoid falling behind 2-0 for the third time in Game 2
on Tuesday night in Phoenix.
Booker, the Suns’ twotime All-Star guard continued to excel in his first postseason, recording his first triple-double with a game-high 40 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists.
The 24-year-old scored 18 of those points in the third quarter, when he shot 7 for 11 from the field. George, L.A.’s seven-time All-Star and AllNBA third-teamer this season, had his fourth 30-plus point game in five outings.
He finished Sunday with 34 points on 10-of-26 shooting in 39 minutes. And he also provided a third-quarter flourish, going back and forth with Booker for 16 points on 4-for-7 shooting from 3-point range.
With George and Booker driving the scoring, Game 1 teeter-tottered much of the way – there were 20 lead changes and 13 ties – until the Suns built a little bit of separation with a 12-0 run early in the fourth quarter that gave the hosts a 105-95 lead.
The Clippers got as close as two points in the final minute before the Suns shut the door – to the delight of a rowdy crowd of 16,583 at Phoenix Suns Arena, where fans spent much of the game on their feet and turned the familiar “Beat L.A.” chant into something less familyfriendly postgame.
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue used his bench liberally, trying to account for fatigue, and for Marcus Morris’ knee soreness, which limited him to just five second-half minutes. Lue said he’s “not quite sure” how Morris’ availability might be affected going forward.
“We know we have bumps and bruises, but we don’t want to drop anybody else hopefully,” said Reggie Jackson, who had 24 points.
“Marcus is going to be good. I’m confident he’ll be ready to go. Game 2, we’ll all be ready, and we’ll figure this thing out.”
There was a blunt theme running through the Clippers’ postgame comments.
“No excuses,” Jackson said. “No excuse,” Lue said. “No excuses,” George echoed, before pivoting to the team’s other talking point: “We have to be better, obviously. But we’ll expect to make the adjustments we need for Game 2.”
The Clippers have proved adept at adjusting during these playoffs, shrinking their lineup and altering their defensive strategies to confound both Dallas and Utah and become the first NBA team to rally out of multiple 2-0 series holes in the same postseason.
“We realize we made a lot of mistakes,” said Cousins, who got a playoff-high 13 minutes in the loss, exceeding his total in Game 1 against Utah, when the Clippers faced the Jazz fewer than 48 hours after winning Game 7 against the Mavericks.
“All the factors that’s played into coming into the game, the quick turnaround, all that – we lost by two baskets, which is a sign that we obviously can correct a lot of our mistakes.
“We’ll adjust,” Cousins added. “I promise.”
Cousins left a mark: 11 points and five fouls.
Veteran point guard Rajon Rondo logged 22 minutes after having not played in three of the final five games of the Utah series.
But the Suns’ supporting cast also was up to the task and helped them take control for their eighth consecutive win.
In his first playoff start, Cameron Payne finished with 11 points and nine assists. Deandre Ayton had 20 points and nine rebounds.
Jae Crowder scored 14 points, Cam Johnson had a careerplayoff-high 12 and Mikal Bridges had 14 – many of them coming to help punctuate the Suns’ closing statement.
Bridges’ back-to-back transition dunks in the fourth quarter pushed the Suns’ lead to 113-104. His 3-pointer in the corner inflated the advantage to 116-106.
Jackson and Rondo both scored to keep their side in it, and then Terance Mann – whose career-high 39 points Friday helped propel the Clippers to these conference finals (he had nine points Sunday) – confidently buried one of the Clippers’ 20 3-pointers Sunday to slice the lead to just 116-114 with 22 seconds left.
But on the ensuing inbounds pass, Booker broke free of Rondo and raced in for a dunk that made it 118-114. Then Bridges blocked George on his drive, Mann got the rebound and quickly outleted the ball, which wound up with Batum. But the versatile, veteran forward – who finished with a team-high 10 rebounds in Lue’s continued small ball strategy – missed a look from deep.
Booker got the rebound and was fouled. He made both free throws, for his 39th and 40 points – and a six-point victory.