Phoenix (AP) – Kawhi Leonard I had a great night while filming Russell Westbrook It was terrible.
Both players made a huge impact on me Los Angeles Clippers In their 115-110 win over Phoenix Suns In the opening game of the Western Conference Qualifying Series on Sunday.
Leonard scored 38 points, including two late three-pointers, while Westbrook was a threat all but the scoring column. The veteran guard shot 3 of 19 from the field but finished with nine points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, three blocks and two steals.
“Throughout my career, every season I pride myself on doing everything,” Westbrook said. “Whatever is required of me to win the match, I will do.”
That’s exactly what happened in the last 30 seconds. Westbrook made a pair of free throws with 17.7 seconds left to take a three-point lead, then blocked Devin Booker’s field goal attempt at the other end and hit the ball off Booker to give the Clippers the ball with 10.1 seconds left.
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Eric Gordon added 19 points and hit 3 late on which kept the Clippers ahead.
Kevin Durant scored 27 points for the Suns, who lost for the first time with him on the floor. Phoenix earned a two-time NBA Finals MVP out of Brooklyn in February, and injuries limited him to eight games — all a Suns win.
Devin Booker added 26 points for Phoenix, who will try to avoid a 2-0 hole at home on Tuesday.
The Suns came in second 109-103 with 1:33 remaining but scored the next five points. The Clippers grabbed several offensive rebounds on the ensuing ball before Westbrook made his crucial free throws.
“We make winning games, deflections on balls, offensive rebounds, putting on our sets — that’s what playoff basketball is,” Leonard said. “You may not have the best night shooting, but you have to influence the game in some way and he did that tonight.”
Los Angeles leads most of the evening until midway through the third quarter. Torrey Craig made consecutive buckets, including one on a hard fast dunk, to push Phoenix ahead 70-68.
He was part of a 15-0 series that put the Suns ahead 77-68. The Clippers, led by Leonard’s 12 points in the third, recovered to tie the score at 81 — all heading into fourth.
“They’re going to run a home run, we get that,” Clippers coach Tyrone Law said. “We built the lead, they made the run, now we have to keep our cool and be ready to fight back. I thought everyone who played tonight was great.”
Leonard — a two-time Finals MVP and playing his first playoff game since June 14, 2021 — did plenty of damage from mid-range, but moved behind the 3-point arc in the final moments of the game. He hit 3 with 2:36 left and another at the 2-minute mark, and finished 13 of 24 shooting from the field.
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The Clippers were missing one of their best eight-time All-Star players, Paul George. He sprained his right knee last month and it is unclear if he will be able to play in this series.
Gordon scored 12 points as the Clippers jumped to a 30-18 lead after one quarter. The Suns shot only 31.8% from the field in the first quarter and Durant remained scoreless.
“We would definitely like to have better starts but sometimes it happens,” Durant said. “It’s all about how you bounce back from it.”
Durant missed his first five shots from the field before finally connecting on a mid-range jumper early in the second quarter. That seemed to rattle nerves and the 34-year-old dropped 17 points before the break, helping cut the Clippers’ lead to 59-54.
“We understand it won’t be easy,” Booker said. “It gets harder from here. Going back to my first[qualifier]every loss is the worst thing ever and every win is a win. That’s how the playoffs work.”
The Suns’ six-game winning streak was snapped in the Game 1s.
Tip-ins
Clippers: George hasn’t played since March 21. Ivica Zubak had 10 points and 11 rebounds in the first half.
Suns: G Cam Payne (Low Back Pain) was not available. He was injured in the next game of the regular season. … We were playing our first home playoff game since losing 33 points to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals last year.
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