‘It was spiritual’: Suns finish off Clippers behind Booker’s 47-point masterclass
Devin Booker unleashed a torrent of offense in the third quarter rarely seen in NBA playoff history, hitting shots from every corner of the gym.
The Phoenix Suns needed just about every one.
Booker scored 47 points, including 25 in a spectacular third quarter, to lead the Suns past the Los Angeles Clippers 136-130 on Tuesday night and win their Western Conference first-round playoff series in five games.
“It was spiritual,” Kevin Durant said of watching Booker’s third quarter. “I don’t scream too much in games as I get older, but when he hit that three at the top of the key, I felt that energy and I know everyone in the crowd felt it. We feed off his aggression.”
The Clippers didn’t go quietly, nearly coming back from a 20-point deficit early in the fourth, hitting four straight threes at one point to quickly close the gap.
Los Angeles had multiple chances to tie in the final three minutes, but could never convert. Durant made a layup to push Phoenix’s lead to 134-130 and then made two free throws to put the Suns up six with 31.3 seconds left.
“I think it’s a good lesson for us moving forward,” Booker said. “Don’t play with your food. Finish out as strong as you can. Keep playing all the way until the whistle blows.”
Durant finished with 31 points while Deandre Ayton had 21 points and 11 rebounds. Booker shot 19 of 27 from the field.
Durant’s final free throws capped a wild back-and-forth second half that saw the Clippers take a 71-61 lead early in the third.
But the Suns – led by Booker’s stellar shot making – unleashed a powerful wave of offense, pouring in 50 points in the third quarter to take a 111-94 lead into the fourth. Booker made 10 of 11 shots in the rally, including three threepointers and a tomahawk fastbreak dunk.
“When he’s going like that, we’re not calling any plays,” Suns coach Monty Williams said.
The flustered Clippers had no answer until it was too late. Norman Powell led Los Angeles with 27 points while Mason Plumlee scored 20 off the bench.
It was a tough night for Russell Westbrook, who scored 14 points on 3 of 18 shooting and had a costly turnover in the final minute, dishing a pass to Terance Mann, who wasn’t expecting the ball.
The Suns will play the top-seeded Denver Nuggets, who sealed their series against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night, in the second round. Game 1 is Saturday in Denver.
The series took a turn last week when the Clippers announced Leonard had a sprained right knee. The two-time NBA finals MVP suffered the injury in Game 1 and played through it in Game 2, but his condition worsened.
He missed Games 3 and 4 and the Clippers lost both contests.
But Los Angeles stayed competitive in those games and Tuesday night continued that trend – for a while. The Clippers took a 70-61 halftime lead, led by Powell’s 16 points. Ayton scored 18 for the Suns.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, Trae Young helped keep the Atlanta Hawks’ season alive.
Young had 38 points and drained a long go-ahead three-pointer from beyond the top of the key with 2.8 seconds left to help the Hawks cap a late comeback and beat the Boston Celtics 119-117.
The victory trims Boston’s lead in the series to 3-2 and sends the teams back to Atlanta for Game 6 on Thursday. Young had 16 points in a frenetic fourth quarter, getting support from his teammates who collectively knocked down a series-best 19 three-pointers.