Total e-Clips: Suns engulfed as Clippers clinch division title
Clippers hold on at end after leading by as much as 37.
PHOENIX — The fans inside Footprint Center, the home of the Phoenix Suns, were restless. Boos emanated from all corners and sections. The paying customers felt obligated to a great performance in the team’s final home game of the regular season. Instead, they were being treated to — or, better yet, subjected to — an epic blowout the likes of which the NBA seldom sees.
“I just thought our intent was perfect,” LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said after the game. “I thought our will to win was great, and we came out with a defensive mindset and were really physical. Our physicality was there, and offensively we were clicking. This is a hell of a win against a really good team.”
The Clippers raced out to a 35-4 lead in the first 11 minutes. Phoenix made two shots in the entire first quarter. Neither of those makes were from their star trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal. Their 37-point lead late in the first half was a statement that even without Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, the Clippers are to be taken seriously.
Things changed in the second half, though, as the Suns used a five-out lineup to pull Clippers center Ivica Zubac out of the paint and get the Clippers’ defense repeatedly in rotation, something Lue noted postgame.
“I probably should’ve gotten (Ivica) Zubac off the floor a little bit earlier but I was being stubborn, and the game got closer than you’d like,” said Lue.
Still, the Clippers held on for a 105-92 win thanks to their first-half statement and late fourth-quarter resolve.
Russell Westbrook tallied his first-ever Clippers triple-double and the 199th of his illustrious Hall of Fame career, finishing with 16 points, 15 rebounds, and 15 assists. Westbrook became the first player in franchise history to have a 15-15-15 game.
“He’s going to bring that energy every night,” Lue told reporters following the win. “He’s been producing for us off the bench. He was producing for us last year as a starter. He just does it all. And so, when you need that energy, you need that toughness. When you need a guy to defend, rebound the basketball, every single night — not for 45 games, not for 62 games, every single night — Russ is the guy you call on.”
Westbrook had an all-encompassing first half as he notched nine points, 12 assists, and eight rebounds while being a plus-32. His effort on the defensive end was particularly noticeable, tallying two early steals that resulted in dunks to help the Clippers gain control in the opening stages of the contest.
“I love the way that we set the tone defensively and our offense just took care of itself,” Westbrook said. “We got stops, got out in transition, and made the right plays.”
Westbrook’s contributions were combined with the efforts of Terance Mann, Ivica Zubac, and Paul George. George, who had to play without the services of fellow star running mates Leonard and Harden, poured home a game-high 23 points to go with seven rebounds and five assists.
Mann and Zubac each tallied 17 points and both ended with double-digit rebounds — 13 for Zubac, 10 for Mann in 38 minutes. Norman Powell chipped in with 10 points and Amir Coffey added 13 big points off the bench, including three made 3s which tied the entire 3-point contributions for Phoenix’s Grayson Allen, Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and Devin Booker as that quartet went a combined 3-for-19 from deep.
“We know how we want to play them,” Ivica Zubac told reporters in the locker room after the win. “Our guys did a hell of a job making it harder for them. Catching the ball and getting them off of their spots. Getting to them when they get the ball and contesting the shot.”
The Suns were led by Kevin Durant’s 21 points on Tuesday but the smooth scoring wing needed 22 shots to get there. A large reason was the defense of Westbrook.
“(Kevin Durant) is one of the best scorers this game has ever had,” Westbrook told reporters. “My job will be difficult. But he can’t score if he doesn’t touch it. Our job is to try and make him shoot difficult shots and find ways to make it difficult for him and the rest of the guys as well.”
Devin Booker also struggled for Phoenix, finishing with 12 points on a paltry 1-for-11 from the field. Bradley Beal added 19 points.
Phoenix made a second-half run thanks to their five-out lineup featuring forward Royce O’Neale as their center. It caused the Clippers a load of issues, but L.A. held on thanks to timely shot-making down the stretch.
“We were able to execute down the stretch, got a couple layups, (Paul George) got going again,” Lue said. “I thought he was tired and worn down, but he made some big shots for us going down the stretch. I thought Amir and T-Mann were doing really good tonight as well.”
The Clippers (51-28) combined to make 12 triples on 46.2% shooting. The Suns (46-33) could only muster 33.7% shooting overall and connected on just eight of their 35 3-point attempts.
As a result of the win, the LA Clippers clinched their third Pacific Division title in franchise history, and their first since they won back-to-back in 2012-13 and 2013-14.
Considering the team started 3-7 and had a recent rut where they went 7-9 from late February to late March, the Clippers securing a division title and being a 50+ win team is a major achievement. Now, the Clippers will turn their sights on securing the 4-seed in the Western Conference. Their magic number for doing so is down to one — either a Clippers win or a Dallas Mavericks loss will clinch it.
The Clippers have won the first three meetings with the Suns this season. The two sides meet again on Wednesday night in Los Angeles, but Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, and James Harden will not be available. The statuses of Russell Westbrook and Ivica Zubac are also in question as the Clippers are on the final night of a five-in-seven stretch.
What the Clippers accomplished on Tuesday shouldn’t be glossed over. You don’t see teams race out to 35-4 leads in a quarter all that often. And you especially don’t see it when they’re down two of their best players. It’s a sign of who the Clippers can be and the level they can get to when they all collectively buy-in.
“We talked about before the game that this was a huge game for us no matter who was playing and our guys stepped up,” said Lue. “It was a hell of a win for us.”