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    • Booker’s 40 leads the Phoenix Suns to their third straight win at the LA Clippers
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    Booker’s 40 leads the Phoenix Suns to their third straight win at the LA Clippers

    Madoc Meredith Posted on

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    Devin Booker’s 40 points and Kevin Durant’s 18 points sparked the Phoenix Suns’ comeback win at the Los Angeles Clippers 125-119 on Thursday.

    This was the Suns’ third straight win and second straight against the Clippers (2-3) since their season opener on October 23rd.

    LA’s James Harden recorded a triple-double and finished the game with 23 points, 13 assists, 10 rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Their regular player Ivica Zubac had 22 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

    After a disastrous first half, the Suns (4-1) scored 12 of their 18 points from the field and hit 60% of their shots in the second half. At the start of the third quarter they were able to take a lead of 21 points.

    They took the lead for the first time at 96:95 after rookie Ryan Dunn (16 points, 6 of 12 FG, 4 of 9 from 3), who started in place of the injured Bradley Beal, made the fourth three-pointer. Suns coach Mike Budenholzer relied on his small-ball lineup in the final minutes, and Royce O’Neale (career-high: 21 points, seven rebounds, one steal, one block off the bench) capped a 16-5 winning run with a near- Break layup after stripping Harden, extending the Suns’ largest lead to eight just after three minutes left.

    The Suns return home to take on the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday at 7 p.m

    Booker and Durant lead the Suns’ comeback at No. 3

    Phoenix shot 16 of 20, including 7 of 11, to cut LA’s lead to 93-91 on a huge third-quarter surge.

    The Clippers extended their lead to 21 with three goals from Ivica Zubac in the first minute. After that, the Suns came to life behind Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, outscoring the Clippers 35-14 and tying the game with a triple by Royce O’Neale with 3:16 left.

    Booker scored 12 of his 27 points to lead all scorers, and Durant scored eight of his 18 points in the period.

    The Suns are still out of sync in Q2

    LA continued to dominate the Suns at halftime, leading 70-52.

    Devin Booker scored eight of his 15 points in the Suns’ 16-7 win early in the second quarter. That cut the Clippers’ lead to eight with 8:33 left in the half, but the Clippers fought back and eventually increased the deficit to 18 in the final seconds.

    The Suns are outscored 36-18 in the game and 11-5 in fast break points, 33-15 in rebounds, including 12-5 in offensive rebounds, and the Clippers have seven more blocks than the Suns .

    Phoenix’s other top contributors include Kevin Durant’s 10 points and Ryan Dunn’s nine (all from 3). The Clippers’ James Harden already has a double-double with 13 points to go with 10 assists, two blocks and two steals, and sharpshooter Norman Powell has 15 points.

    Harden, the Clippers put the Suns in a big hole in the first quarter

    James Harden had 12 points and seven assists to give LA a 37-20 lead at the end of the first quarter.

    Kevin Durant leads Phoenix with six points.

    The Clippers reached their largest lead of 19 on a 16-3 run after several players from the Suns’ second unit entered the game with 4:50 left. The Suns committed four turnovers, which the Clippers converted into eight points.

    Dunn replaces the injured Beal in the Suns’ starting lineup

    Suns rookie swingman Ryan Dunn will make his second start this season, replacing Bradley Beal (elbow), who is out. Dunn will open the game with point guards Tyus Jones, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Jusuf Nurkic at center.

    The Clippers will start James Harden and Norman Powell in the backcourt, Terance Mann in the back three, reliever Derrick Jones Jr. and Ivica Zubac in the middle.

    Suns and Clippers injury reports

    Phoenix starter Bradley Beal (elbow) was a likely game-winning decision for Thursday’s game. Backup striker Josh Okogie (hamstring) will be out again and has yet to make his season debut.

    LA star Kawhi Leonard (knee) and center Mo Bamba (knee) remain out. Veteran forward PJ Tucker is no longer with the team.

    More Suns coverage

    More: Pushing 70: Phoenix Suns use the second-most lineups in the NBA under Mike Budenholzer

    More: The Phoenix Suns’ G League franchise already has a practice facility advantage ($100 million).

    More: After the viral unveiling of Dwyane Wade’s statue, he thinks Kevin Durant deserves one. KD disagrees

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    Madoc Meredith
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