Suns' stars scorch Clippers in Game 2 to even playoff series

Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard beats Suns defenders for a right-handed layup.

Staff Writer

April 18, 2023 9:49 PM PT

PHOENIX — Before they went their separate ways in the heat of the Arizona night late Tuesday, Phoenix’s Kevin Durant and Clippers point guard Russell Westbrook found themselves within feet of each other once again as they exited Footprint Center.

Durant and Westbrook slapped hands and put an arm around each other, the moment cordial and quick.

For eight years they had been teammates in Oklahoma City. For two postseason games they have been combatants. And for two hours Tuesday they often guarded each other on opposite sides of a heated playoff series that returns, tied, to Los Angeles with each team still bullish about its chances to ultimately leave victorious.

Durant and the Suns fought back for a 123-109 victory in Game 2 by taking the shots they wanted, producing the kind of offense Phoenix envisioned upon acquiring the slim superstar from Brooklyn in February. Durant scored 25 points, teammate Devin Booker scored 18 of his game-high 38 in the third quarter, and Chris Paul scored half of his 16 in the fourth quarter. Phoenix made 58% of its shots.

And yet with 3 minutes 13 seconds to play, the Clippers trailed by just six points. They ultimately were done in not by Phoenix’s offensive brilliance, but their own offensive problems that cost them the opportunity to take a 2-0 series lead for the first time since 2016.

The next five Clippers possessions ended in five missed opportunities. Two consecutive turnovers by Westbrook. A turnover by Eric Gordon. A miss by Kawhi Leonard and 11 seconds later, Leonard traveled with the ball.

It was the opposite of their crisp, late-game execution in Game 1.

It did not dim their confidence.

“We think we can win this series, and so that’s the biggest thing,” coach Tyronn Lue said. “100% of the battle is believing, and we believe we can do it.”

To do it, they will need help from the Suns, who took largely the same shots as in Game 1, only to make them at a devastating rate. After taking eight shots at the rim Sunday, they took 11 Tuesday. After 55 mid-range jump shots Sunday, the Suns took 50 more. Modern NBA defense protects the rim and three-point line to allow jumpers. Long two-point shots are usually an analytical victory for the defense — but after shooting eight for 25 on those looks Sunday, the Suns made 16 of 22 two days later, thanks to Durant and Booker.

“A lot of them tonight were wide open that we didn’t get a chance to contest them,” said Westbrook, who followed his three-for-19 shooting Sunday by making nine of 16 for 28 points. “If they’re shooting, that’s fine, but we’ve just got to make sure we’re contesting and making sure we’re in the vision to make those a little more tougher than normal.”

The Clippers attempted to offset that by taking 16 more shots at the rim, but outside of Leonard (31 points) and Westbrook, the Clippers’ complementary players struggled to make shots — 15 of 44.

Leonard said the Clippers were in a “good place” for Game 3 on Thursday.

“Just got to do a better job defensively,” Leonard said, “and see if they can miss.”

The Clippers missed their chance after leading by as many as 13 in the first half. After attempting 15 shots in Game 1, Durant took eight in the first quarter — yet few looks were easy. Westbrook slapped away one shot from behind.

Left alone to defend Durant at the top of the three-point arc, Leonard ripped away Durant’s dribble, then ran downcourt for a dunk, part of a bravura opening quarter in which Leonard scored eight points with five assists and four rebounds.

Clippers guard Russell Westbrook, as well as the referee behind him, signals for a three-pointer after making the shot.

But that 13-point lead was undone in the final five minutes of the half, and by midway through the third quarter, Phoenix led by 10. It set up the same puzzle the Clippers solved in the final minutes of Game 1’s third quarter: how to respond after taking Phoenix’s best second-half punch.

Yet this time when Leonard took a two-minute breather to begin the fourth quarter, the Suns’ shooting punished Clippers reserves, pushing their lead to 11 by the time Leonard returned with 9:47 to play.

He was the tallest member of a lineup of five guards and wings. It made no headway.

And given an opening to seize series control, neither could the Clippers.