Suns jump up to 2-1 lead with Devin Booker scoring 42 points as Clippers lose Game 3, 129-124

The Phoenix Suns held off a valiant comeback effort by the short-handed Clippers in Los Angeles on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round series with a 129-124 win. Devin Booker scored a game-high 45 points for the Suns, while the Clips were without Kawhi Leonard, who is battling a sprained knee. 

Phoenix took advantage of Leonard’s knee issue – the same injury that has sidelined fellow star Paul George since March 21 – to reclaim home advantage after surprisingly losing Game 1 at home on Sunday.

Booker connected on 18 of 29 shots, and had seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks while playing a game-high 44 minutes. He scored 38 points in Game 2. 

Suns forward Kevin Durant shot 8-15 overall, making all of his 11 attempts from the free throw line to finish the night with 28 points, despite only connecting on 1 of his 3 3-point attempts.  

Norman Powell led the Clippers, scoring a career playoff-high 40 points on 14-of-22 shooting. Russell Westbrook added 30 points and 11 assists. 

Devin Booker stood out for the Suns against the Clippers, scoring 40 points on 18-29 shooting

Clippers guard Norman Powell was 14-of-22 shooting and ended with 40 points in the absence of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George on Thursday night

Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard, in yellow, sits on the bench during the first half of Game 3 in L.A.

Kevin Durant scored 28 points, converting all of his 11 free throw attempts. Pictured slamming it home in the second half of Game 3

With Leonard watching from the bench, the Clippers kept it close through the first half, when neither team led by more than six. 

The Clippers got within three on two free throws by Westbrook with 1:44 remaining. After a 6-0 run by the Suns, Powell hit a 3-pointer, got fouled and made the free throw to pull the Clippers to 125-120.

Despite the heroics of former UCLA stars Powell and Westbrook, the Clippers sorely missed Leonard’s offense. He had 38 points in a Game 1 win at Phoenix and 31 in a loss in Game 2 before his condition wasn’t deemed good enough for him to play on Thursday.

The Suns pulled away in the third behind Booker. He scored eight points in a 17-8 run to open the period and give Phoenix its first double-digit lead of the game, 71-59.

Westbrook scored seven in a row to cut the Clippers’ deficit to 71-66. The Suns answered with eight straight, capped by Durant’s vicious one-handed slam, to lead 79-66. They were ahead by seven going into the fourth.

Without Leonard, the Clippers counted on Westbrook and he made his presence known from the opening tip, keying a 6-0 run to start the game.

Russell Westbrook’s double-double, consisting of 30 points and 11 assists wasn’t enough for the Clippers to win Game 3 at home

The Suns answered with 12 straight points before the Clippers answered with a 14-2 spurt that gave them a 20-14 lead.

The Clippers led by one when Durant, Chris Paul and Booker hit consecutive 3-pointers to go up by eight in the second, Phoenix’s largest lead of the half.

Powell ran off eight straight points to send the Clippers into halftime trailing 54-51.

Booker’s heroics made it his fifth career 40-plus-point postseason game. Chris Paul finished with 11 points and seven assists.

One key positive takeaway for the Clippers: their reserves outscored the Suns’ bench, 37-18, with Bones Hyland scoring 20 points, despite now falling to 3-10 this season without Leonard and George in the lineup. Nicolas Batum was the only starter who didn’t score.

Game 4 is Saturday in Los Angeles.

Despite an impressive block on Suns guard Deandre Ayton, Nicolas Batum was the only starter on the Clippers to not score on the night