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Durant, Beal and Suns push LA in OT thriller

Posted on by Kennedy
Durant, Beal and Suns push LA in OT thriller

The Phoenix Suns (1-0) won their season debut at the Los Angeles Clippers (0-1) in overtime 116-113 on Wednesday.

Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal led the Suns with 25 and 24 points, respectively. Devin Booker finished the game with 15 points, six assists, four rebounds, one steal and one block before being fouled late in the fourth.

James Harden fueled the Clippers' second-half surge, scoring a game-high 29 points. He missed the second of two free throws with four seconds left in stoppage time, which would have tied the game at 114.

Jusuf Nurkic (11 points, team-high nine rebounds, two steals) was fouled while rebounding Harden's miss and made both free throws.

The Clippers called a timeout with three seconds left.

The inbound pass to Harden was stolen in the halfcourt by Grayson Allen (eight points, three assists, one steal, one block) to seal the win.

The Suns remain in LA for Game 2 against another Pacific Division rival, the LeBron James-led Lakers, on Friday at 7 p.m

Analysis: What we learned about the Suns' opening game win against the Clippers

The Suns' Durant forces OT in the final seconds

Kevin Durant (23 points) hit a contested jump shot late in regulation, tying the game at 103 to force overtime. Devin Booker was fouled late and ended up scoring 15 points for the Suns.

The Clippers started the fourth period with a 14-5 run and built their largest lead of 10 with six minutes left. James Harden scored 24 of his 28 points in the second half.

Phoenix fought its way back and Durant's layup over Harden and the free throw gave the Suns a 101-99 lead with 1:39 left. Harden then hit a mid-range stepback jump shot to tie the game, and after 41.5 seconds, the Clippers' ensuing possession caused a foul by Durant. Harden hit two free throws and LA led 103-101.

On the Suns' ensuing possession, Durant fired a contested shot into the goal with 21 seconds left to tie the game.

The Clippers take the lead as Harden gains momentum in the 3rd quarter

Harden led the Clippers' offense as they took a 74-72 lead early in the final quarter. He ended his shooting slump in the first half and scored 16 of his 20 points in the third half.

The Clippers started with a 12:4 run and finally achieved their largest lead with six points.

Beal was the Suns' leading scorer after three quarters, scoring nine of his 17 points on a stellar 70% shooting percentage, including three treys. Durant had 11 points and Booker (six points) didn't score in the third period.

Booker, Suns rain 3 seconds into halftime

At the break, Phoenix leads LA 47:39.

After four lead changes early in the second quarter, the Suns went on a 14-0 run to reach their largest lead of 14. They made eight of their 15 treys in the period and shot an outstanding 43.5% from distance. The Suns' perimeter defense held the Clippers to just 2 of 16 points.

Booker scored all six of his points on two three-pointers, Bradley Beal had eight points and Kevin Durant scored seven points. The Clippers' leading scorer is Norman Powell with 11 points, and their chief of staff James Harden managed just four points while struggling to make 2 of 11 from the field.

The Suns lead to a tight end of the first quarter

Phoenix leads LA 23-22 after a close opening quarter.

Kevin Durant scored five points for the Suns. Norman Powell of the Clippers led all scorers with seven points.

The first quarter lead remained narrow throughout the first quarter, which saw seven lead changes and five ties. The Clippers' largest lead was four.

Starting lineups

The Suns start Tyus Jones at the point, Devin Booker in the backcourt with him, Bradley Beal for their three-guard lineup, Kevin Durant and Jusuf Nurkic in the middle.

The Clippers will start with James Harden at one, Norman Powell at two guards, swingman Terance Mann, Derrick Jones Jr. and big Ivica Zubac.

Clippers open season in new Intuit Dome without Leonard

The Suns' first of their two season-opening away games in LA will take place at the Clippers' new home arena, the Intuit Dome. Located in the LA suburb of Inglewood, it has not been the Clippers' previous home since 2000, which they shared with the Lakers at the Crypto.com Arena in downtown LA.

The Clippers will be without their biggest star and two-time champion Kawhi Leonard, who is out indefinitely due to recurring knee problems. Devin Booker said at the Suns' final training camp on Tuesday that the Clippers are a “well-rounded” squad even in Leonard's absence, suggesting that Harden's scoring prowess on defense is still a force to be wary of on defense Have to be careful.

ESPN profiled Harden leading his hometown Clippers team without Leonard hours before tipoff between the Suns and Clippers.

Suns and Clippers injury reports

Suns sharpshooters Grayson Allen (right hamstring) and Damion Lee (hamstring injury) are likely to play. Their replacement striker Josh Okogie (hamstring) is out.

Aside from Leonard being out due to LA, their big man Mo Bamba (knee) is also out and PJ Tucker won't be with the team going forward.

(This story has been updated to add new information.)

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