Los Angeles Clippers 130 vs 136 Phoenix Suns summary: stats and highlights | NBA Playoffs Game 5
The Phoenix Suns are moving on to the next round of the Western Conference Playoffs after fending off the Los Angeles Clippers from the Footprint Center on Tuesday night. Devin Booker led the Suns with 47 points in the 136-130 Game 5 victory.
Kawhi unavailable in elimination game
The Clippers came into the elimination game short handed for the third straight matchup against the Suns after Kawhi Leonard was ruled out before tip off. That meant the rest of the cast was going to step up with Kawhi and Paul George on sidelines.
Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac kick started the Clippers night in the first quarter, as Devin Booker gave a preview of what was to come when he scored the Suns first six points.
Russell Westbrook had two sensational games in LA, scoring 30 and 37 but on Tuesday night the former Laker started cold and stayed cold through the night. Westbrook had 14 points on 3/18 shooting, but Powell and Zubac picked up the slack in the first half. The duo was outplaying Booker and DeAndre Ayton who led all scorers at half-time, as the Clippers went to half with a nine point lead.
Booker runs wild in third quarter
Booker came into the third quarter with 16 points, but his night was just getting started. He was unstoppable in after the break, scoring 25 points in a quarter where the Suns set a playoff franchise record for points in a single quarter with 50. Booker went for half of that while the Clippers scored just 24.
The Suns lead would stretch to as many as 20 in the fourth, as Kevin Durant got more incorporated during the second half. He would end the game with 31, but he and the Suns went through a cold spell late in the fourth and LA almost made them pay.
Next up: Nuggets
The Clippers would hit four straight threes during a 15-2 run that cut the fourth deficit to just two with under three to go. Powell would lead the late charge on a night in which he scored 27, and Westbrook had a chance to tie the game up but missed a lay up at the rim. Moments later, Booker would sentence the game with a free throw line jumper to cap off his 47 point night.
The Suns held on to victory against a gritty Clippers team who did a great job of making this series interesting despite their injury problems. Phoenix will now set their sights on the top seeded Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Semifinals.
Phoenix are on to the next round of the Western Conference Playoffs and they will take on the top seeded Denver Nuggets.
The Suns almost gave up a 20 point fourth quarter lead, giving up a 12-0 run late in the game that saw the lead dwindle to 2, but KD came up with a big bucket that helped seal the win.
Booker had 25 of the 50 points Phoenix scored in the third quarter as the Suns went on an 18-0 run to jump out to a big lead.
The Suns came into the second half trailing the clips but scored 50 points to take a commanding lead heading into the fourth.
DeAndre Ayton had his best game of the series in Game 5. He had 18 points in the first half to carry Phoenix in the first 24 minutes.
KD had just two points in the first quarter, but he would get going when his team needed him.
It looked like it was going to be an easy win for the Suns after a massive third quarter, but what a comeback bid the Clippers made at the end of the game.
The Suns will now prepare for the Denver Nuggets in the next round.
IT'S ALL OVER!!! THE PHOENIX SUNS ARE HEADED TO THE SECOND ROUND OF THE WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFFS!
KD at the line and he hits both after the foul on Powell.
Mann couldn't handle the pass from Westbrook and the Suns will take the ball with 50 to go.
Powell lost it, Paul scooped it, dished it and KD was there with the finish off the glass in transition!
Timeout Clippers with 58 seconds to go.
Paul missed an open three and Batum had a chance to take the lead with a three but missed it!
1:10 to go from Phoenix.
Powell at the line after the foul on Booker and he hits both FTs with under 2:00 to go.
Booker pulls up from the FT line and hits it after Westbrook missed a lay up on the break.
Powell pulls up from just inside the arc, gets the whistle and the bucket!!! FT is good to complete the three point pay with 2:45 to go.
Powell missed a three ball with under 3 minutes to go, and Ayton goes to the line after the Plumlee foul. He hits one of two from the line.
Booker to the line after the foul on Batum and he splits the two from the line.
Batum fires a three from the top of the key and it's a three point game!!!
Mann drills it in the corner and the Clippers are on a 9-0 run after three straight triples!!!
Timeout Suns with 3:53 to go.
Powell with a quick trigger three and he drills it!
Batum hits a three ball on the break and the Clips are trying to gets points in a hurry.
Ayton on the slam off the feed from Booker and the Clipper take a timeout with 5:36 to go in the fourth!
Booker back at it!! He drills the three ball just when it seemed like the Clips were starting to build a run!
Batum nails a three ball off the dish from Westbrook!
Paul was left open for three, and he drills it! You can't leave CP3 open in the fourth quarter... He will punish you every time!
Powell gliding to the iron and he hits the finger roll of the glass.
Plumlee hits both FTs after the foul on Biyombo,
Paul with the mid range jumper and here he is again, showing up in the fourth quarter.
Plumlee again on a lay up and he's on a little run of his own right now.
Okobie gets on the end of a loose ball with the shot clock running out and jacked up the FT line jumper.
Plumlee with a steal and slam and is he going to be the one to bring the Clips back to life?
TO Suns with 9:38 to go in the fourth.
Plumlee gets the bucket and the foul down low! FT is good to complete the three point play.
Biyombo follows his own miss and dumps it off to KD for the short jumper in the lane.
Batum hits a three ball after the Plumlee offensive board.
Biyombo on the lay in and gets decked from behind by Hyland! That will be a flagrant 1. Biyombo hits the FT, but Durant gave it away after the Suns got the ball back.
We are headed to the final quarter, and the Suns have a huge lead after an 18-0 run from Phoenix!
Booker had 25 in that half, the Clippers had 24.
Durant gets to the baseline and he hits the leaner from the mid range!
Powell to the line and he hits one of two. Plumlee gets the offensive rebound on the miss, puts it back and gets the foul! FT is good.
Booker floats one down the middle of the lane and he's over 40 before the 4th!!!
Mann gets the lay up and that's LA's first field goal in ages.
Shamet from the corner and the onslaught continues from the desert!
Plumlee at the line and he hits both FTs after the foul on Ayton
Okogie at the line and he hits both after the foul on Powell! 18-0 run for the Suns!
Booker cocks it back and throws it down!! He's got 39 before the fourth quarter!
Skip pass from Booker to KD and he strings the three from the corner! 14-0 run for the Suns!
Mann misses both FTs after the foul on Biyombo.
Booker with the leaner on the baseline and it's an 11-0 run from the Suns!
Westbrook got called for a flagrant foul on a block attempt of Biyombo. He goes to the line and hits one of two and the Suns will get the ball back.
Booker pulls the trigger from downtown again and this Footprint Center just ignited!!!
Timeout LA with 3:44 to go in the third quarter.
Booker gets the roll from downtown after faking out two defenders with a ball fake!
Booker drills a pull jump jumper from outside the lane.
Zubac was fouled by Durant and he hits both FTs.
KD with the pull up and he gets it to drop and the foul! FT is good to complete the three point play!
Morris with the lay up and he's hot night continues!
Paul answers back with a three ball in the corner!
Gordon drills the three ball and that's his first one of the night. Couldn't have come at a better time!
Paul with the rebound and he hit the releasing Booker for the open jam! 9-0 run and the Suns have the lead!
Durant strings the three ball and the Suns are on a 7-0 run which will force the Clips to take a timeout with 7:01 to go in the third quarter.
Booker gets the roll off the glass after the mid range jumper off the glass.
Booker fouled on the drive by Westbrook and he goes to the line and hits both FTs.
Zubac going to the line after the foul on Ayton and he hits both FTs.
Powell threw one up on the baseline in desperation and Zubac was there with the tip in, but got called for basket interference.
The Clips will challenge the call with 9 to go in the half.
Gordon fouls Durant, and he goes to the line and hits both FTs.
Westbrook at the line again after the foul on Craig and he hits both FTs.
Westbrook at the line after the foul on Booker and he hits both FTs.
CP3 drills the three and the Suns are on an 8-0 run.
Booker soared in to rebound Ayton's air ball, and then hit the corner three for five quick points to start this half.
Booker on the one handed floater down the lane and he's got 18 on the night.
Westbrook at the line and he hits one of two FTs after the foul on Craig.
WE ARE BACK IN PLAY FOR THE SECOND HALF OF ACTION FROM PHOENIX!
Powell is not backing down from the Suns in this elimination game. He's got a team high 16 points.
Hyland had a quick 9 points in the second quarter, and the Clippers had 27 bench points in the opening half.
Ayton isn't going to win this game for the Suns but if he continues to produce like he did in the first half Phoenix should be in the next round of the playoffs by the end of the night.
Ayton was a force to be reckoned with in the first half. He had 18 to lead all scorers and the Clippers didn't seem to have any answer for him.
Westbrook was scoreless in the first quarter, but had 7 in the second. If we know anything about Russ, it's he doesn't need much time to heat up.
How about the production off the bench from Morris who has 10 points going into the final 24 minutes.
Westbrook was quiet to start the game, but Norman Powell got hot quick and ended the half with 16.
With no PG or Kawhi, the Clippers are going to need everyone to rise to the occasion and Ivica Zubac did that in the early going scoring 8 points in the first quarter.
This was the only bucket of KD's first quarter. He took a little while to get going, but DeAndre Ayton stepped up in the first half.
Booker got the Suns going with the first 6 points and 8 of the first 10 Suns points in the first quarter.
Powell leads the Clippers with 16 points while Morris and Zubac both have 10 a piece. Westbrook has 7, but is just 2/8 from the field.
Ayton leads all scorers with 18, as Booker cooled off in the second going to the break with 16 and KD started to find his stroke in the second scoring 10 of his 12 after the first quarter.
WE ARE HEADING TO HALF TIME WITH THE CLIPPERS LEADING BY 9 IN A MUST WIN GAME!!!
Booker got blocked by Zubac who got the offensive rebound under the other bucket which led to a Mann three ball in the corner! LA's lead is the largest of the night!
Powell gets the lay up to go and the foul! FT is good to complete the three point play!
Okogie on the slam off the dump off from Ayton!
Zubac gets a tough jump hook to go over Ayton.
Powell to the line after the foul on Okogie and he hits one of two FTs.
Durant with the lay up after Payne hit him penetrating in the paint.
Westbrook hits the floater and lets see if that gets his night going. He's got 7 on the night.
Booker with another tough runner in the lane, and he got T'd up after hitting the shot and saying something to the ref.
Powell makes the FT after the tech.
MOrris with a pull up from inside the arc and he's having a nice 1st half with 10.
Booker picked up his dribble in the paint, spun out of traffic and hit the fader.
Durant drills another three ball and he's got 8 points this quarter!
Morris at the line after the foul on Durant and he hits both FTs.
Ayton with the jam off the Booker dish and he's the one that is taking over this potential close out game!
Timeout Clippers with 4:31 left in the half.
Westbrook lost it on the way up but Morris was there for the baseline jumper as the clock was winding down.
Hyland streaking to the iron and he's having a nice 2nd quarter with 9 point on his night.
Westbrook missed the lay up but Mann hit Batum on the perimeter and he strings the three ball!
Ayton follows the KD miss and he hits the jump hook and the foul on Plumlee! FT is good to complete the three point play off the second chance points.
Westbrook heads to the line after a whistle on Lee, and he hits both FTs.
KD going to the line after the foul on Westbrook and he hits both FTs.
KD drills a three ball after scoring just two points in the first quarter.
Hyland on the step back and quick trigger three ball! He's starting to heat up in this second half.
Hyland his a deep two in the face of Okogie.
Paul comes up with the steal on Westbrook and hits the pull up from elbow on the other end of the court.
Mann missed the three ball but Batum was there for the tip in and the Suns will take a timeout after some sloppy rebounding with 10 to go in the half.
Booker pulls up from the elbow for his first points of the second quarter.
Plumlee gets the tip in to go and the foul! FT is good after the foul on Booker.
Ayton with another bucket this time from under the iron and he's got 13 already.
Westbrook drills the three ball after the long rebound and he is finally on the board!
Ayton fires from the FT line and he's in double figures.
Plumlee slips it across the paint to Hyland who starts the second quarter off with a lay up.
We are at the end of the opening quarter!
Booker got the Suns off to a hot start, scoring 8 of the first 10 and ended the first stanza with 10 while Ayton had another 9.
Powell has been the man for LA with 11 points and Zubac chipped in another 8 points in a first quarter in which Westbrook went scoreless.
Biyombo at the line and he hits both FTs after the foul on Plumlee..
Plumlee snags the offensive rebound and gets the put back to go.
Mann racing down the court and he lays it off the glass after the Batum assist.
Okogie drills the three ball from the corner off the kickout from Biyombo!
Plumlee got the offensive board off Batum's airball and then hit Batum streaking to the bucket for an alert lay up.
Durant with the long rebound and hit Okogie in transition for the slam!
Timeout Clippers with 2:07 to go in the first quarter
Booker finds Biyombo on the slip screen and that ends with a vicious slam!
Plumlee at the line and he hits one of two after the foul on Biyombo.
Morris with another mid range jumper and everyone is getting into the action early on for the Clips, except Westbrook.
Ayton follows up the miss from KD and he gets the put back to go after the offensive rebound.
Zubac attacks the rack again and he's got 8 in the first quarter.
Ayton streaking to the iron and he gets the bucket and the foul! FT is good to complete the three point play!
Morris spots up fro the lane and he gets his first bucket of the night.
Powell with the three ball and he's the one stepping up early with Westbrook yet to get involved.
Booker on the pull up and he's already in double figures.
Ayton with the slam off the Okogie dish!
Powell drills the mid range jumper and gets the whistle after Paul got a piece of him! FT is good to complete the three point play.
Paul pulls up from the elbow and his hot shooting has carried over from the fourth quarter of Game 4.
Powell comes out of the timeout and slashes to the rack for the lay up off the crystal.
Durant introduces himself to the game with a thunderous rock of the rim after the turnover by Westbrook and the Clips will take a timeout with 7:40 to go.
Booker heading to the line and he hits both FTs after the foul on Powell. That's 8 for Booker, and you get the feeling that this could be a big night for DB.
Zubac going back to the line and he hits both FTs after the foul on Craig. That's six quick points for the Clips big game.
Booker strokes the long range two from the corner and he's 3/3 to start the night.
Zubac going back to the rack and he slams it home down the lane! Tow quick buckets from Zubac.
Ayton with the mini floater in the lane off the assist from Booker. DB has been involved in every basket so far.
Powell drills a three ball and if he could find another 40 point performance who grateful would the Clippers be?
Booker starts the game with back to back buckets and the Suns won't mind seeing that.
Zubac needs to get hot early, and gets his night going with a jump hook to put the Clips on the board.
Booker gets us going with a drive and finish at the rim, and he's coming off a 30 point game and looking to build on that tonight.
WE ARE UNDERWAY FROM FOOTPRINT CENTER!!!
Hawks win!!!
The Atlanta Hawks just survived an elimination game after trailing by 13 points in the second half. Trae Young ended the night with 38 points and ended the game with this 30 footer to keep the Hawks alive.
KD and DB headline the Suns Starting 5, but Chris Paul reminded us that he is still just as deadly of a closer when the fourth quarter comes calling. Ayton and Okogie will be looking to put in some valuable minutes and help Phoenix close the series on their home court.
With no Paul George or Kawhi Leonard, this is what the Clippers Starting 5 looks like. It will be up to Russell Westbrook and Norman Powell to carry the scoring load in Game 5 on the road.
3-1 series history
In the entire history of the NBA, there have been just 13 teams to comeback from a 3-1 deficit. In total, 95% of teams that jump out to such a lead close the series out in one of the final three games. The last time a team came back from 3-1 down was back in the 2020 playoffs when the Denver Nuggets did it in back to back series, first against the Utah in the first round and then against the Clippers in the Western Conference Semis. LA will be hoping fortune is on their side this year, but no that will Kawhi and PG sidelined the task only becomes tougher.
Suns have dropped just one with KD
Kevin Durant is looking right at home in Phoenix since getting traded from the Brooklyn Nets before the All-Star break. He’s averaging 26 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists since coming to the desert and the Suns have lost just one game (Game 1 vs. the Clippers) with KD healthy and on the floor. Tonight the Suns can advance to the second round with their ninth win in ten games with KD in the Starting 5.
Kawhi out for third straight game
The Clippers came into this first round series already short handed, with Paul George sidelined with a knee ligament sprain since mid March. Kawhi Leonard has now been ruled out for a third straight game after suffering the same injury as George in Game 2. Seeing LA’s two stars have to miss what promised to be a mouthwatering series has diluted the opening round matchup, and could cost the Clips an early exit from the playoffs.
Suns star shining brightest
Kevin Durant might be the new kid on the block in Phoenix, but this is Devin Booker’s team. He had a good game in the opener, scoring 26 points but in the Suns three wins he is averaging 37.6 points and more than six rebounds. KD’s addition has been welcomed by DB, who knows the more scorers there are on the floor, the more dangerous he becomes. This three headed attack is going to be difficult for any team to stop in a seven game series.
Clips against the wall
In the last two games, Russell Westbrook has shown he is still capable of being a star and leading a team at the late stages of his career. He had 30, 12 and 8 assist in Game 3, and put up 37 last game to almost complete the Clips comeback. Tonight LA will need more of the same from their future Hall of Famer who will be leading his shorthanded side tonight against a red hot Suns team knocking on the door of the second round.
Game 4 recap
For the second straight game the Clippers were without Kawhi Leonard and his absence was obvious from the start. Russell Westbrook did his best to try to fill the shoes of Leonard, but his 37 points came up short. LA started the second half in the lead, but Phoenix would take it back in the middle of the third quarter and not give it up. Kevin Durant led the Suns with 31 points, Devin Booker had another 30 and Chris Paul capped the game with another impressive fourth quarter. Westbrook threw all he had at the Suns, scoring 14 of his 37 in the final quarter and brought the Clips to within two twice, but Phoenix was able to close out the Clips to take their third straight.
We are live from Phoenix
Hello everyone and welcome to the desert where the Suns are in prime position to advance to the Western Conference semifinals. Monty Williams’ team got off to a bumpy start, losing Game 1 at home but three straight wins has calmed the waters and now they are a win away from taking one step closer to the NBA Finals. The Clippers injury problems have gone from bad to worse as this series has progressed and if LA are going to have a chance at extending their season, they will need to do so without two of their stars.
Clippers vs. Suns Game 5
The Los Angeles Clippers are facing elimination tonight in Phoenix after the Suns have rattled off three straight wins. Tonight they can secure their spot in the next round and AS English will be with you all night providing live coverage, stats, highlights and analysis of tonight’s potential knockout game from Footprint Center.