It was just last week that the Scissors They hosted the Phoenix Suns and just nine days later they played them again at the Intuit Dome.
Before the game, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue He said there weren’t many advantages to playing a team like the Suns so soon again, especially a team with lethal weapons like Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. At least they didn’t have to face Bradley Beal, who didn’t play Thursday due to an elbow injury.
It seemed as if the Clippers had found an advantage when they attacked the Suns early, building a 19-point lead in the first quarter that grew to 21 in the third.
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The Clippers, however, were unable to maintain the lead and lost. 125-119 to the Suns despite having five players scoring in double figures.
That’s because Booker torched the Clippers for 40 points, along with eight assists and five rebounds.
That’s because the Suns dominated the Clippers in the third quarter, shooting 80% (16 of 20) from the field en route to scoring 39 points.
That’s because the Clippers turned the ball over six times in the fourth quarter.
The Clippers’ five games have been close, but they are winless in three games in their new home in Inglewood.
“We have to continue improving. We have to close games better and it is something to continue learning from,” Lue said. “Our five games have been close, until the last moment. We have been lucky to win two of them. …So we just stay the course, understanding that our margin for error is very small.
“Every possession matters. … We’re playing hard, we’re competing, but we have to play smarter and we have to be better.”
James Harden He led the Clippers with a triple-double of 25 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds. It was the 78th triple-double of his career, putting him in a tie with Hall of Fame legend and former Laker Wilt Chamberlain for seventh in NBA history.
Harden surpassed 26,000 career points, becoming one of 20 players in league history to reach that milestone.
But Harden is still trying to be efficient with his game. He made eight of 19 field goals and three of 10 three-point shots. He had six turnovers.
“Turnovers are going to happen,” Harden said. “I try, but some of the passes I make, many are successful and some are not. So I just try to find a balance between when to pitch and when not to pitch. But the ones that are not forced, I can control much better.
“But I don’t think it was necessarily the turnovers that lost the game. We came out of the third quarter defensively, they didn’t feel us defensively, our presence, and they just felt comfortable. They made shots and that got them back in.” the game.”
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The Suns took over the game in the second half and the Clippers defense couldn’t contain them.
The Clippers saw their 70-52 halftime lead dwindle to just two points entering the fourth quarter. It didn’t help the Clippers that Norman Powell (23 points) went to the locker room after receiving a blow to the face. He returned to the game in the fourth quarter.
Phoenix shot 60.5% from the field in the final 24 minutes, 52.5% from three-point range and scored 73 points.
“Definitely frustrating, but we can’t do anything about it,” Harden said of the Clippers blowing a 21-point lead. “We just have to find ways to get better, I think since last night we had that conversation and then tonight I think we came out with really good energy, a positive start and we have enough talent.
“We just have to, when we get leads, we have to know how to get a good shot and keep those leads… but that all comes with us, the growing pains.”
This story originally appeared on Los Angeles Times.
