There were elements of the entire Phoenix Suns season found in a hard fought but still foundering 115-110 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in their first round NBA Western Conference series.
The Phoenix Suns went through a lot of ups and downs during the regular season, particularly during the dark days of winter when Chris Paul and Devin Booker, among others, missed significant playing time with injuries. A theme during that time, that has still been hard to shake was poor starts and that is how the Suns’ first game of the 2023 playoffs started.
Gordon goes off as the Suns go cold in the first quarter
The first quarter started as you might have thought with both teams tight and the first bucket not coming until almost two minutes into the game. A deep three from CP3 and a dunk from Deandre Ayton were early highlights from the Suns. After a Booker bucket put the Suns up 10 to 8, the Clippers found a rhythm that left Phoenix fans with a familiar sinking feeling.
After that Booker jumper the Clippers went off outscoring Phoenix 22 to eight over the final seven minutes of the quarter. Leaving the Suns down by a dozen 30 to 18 after one quarter. The Clippers were paced by Eric Gordon who had 12 points, including back-to-back threes during the Los Angeles run. More than anything, what hurt Phoenix was woeful shooting, going just 7 for 21 from the field in the first.
The worst part for Phoenix was having to play the entire game from behind, which was not how anyone in the valley wanted the playoffs to being.
Stars show up for Suns in a strong second quarter
After being outscored by a dozen to start the game, Phoenix was better in the second quarter, cutting into the lead before the half. The biggest difference between the first and second quarter was that some of the shots that were not falling for Phoenix were finally going through the hoop. This was especially true for Kevin Durant.
Like any smart scorer, after a poor first quarter, KD got to the free throw line to see the ball go through the hoop. Following those free throws, a little pump fake and a layup woke the slim reaper up. After going 0-for in the first quarter, our superstar poured in 17 second quarter points. Not to be outdone, DBook, had 10 second quarter points to enter the half with 16.
Unfortunately, the rest of the Phoenix team was struggling combining for only nine points in the second quarter and 22 in the half, with Torrey Craig, a somewhat surprise starter, and Ayton each scoring eight. Fortunately, the strong quarter from our top two put Phoenix in a position to make a game of things in the second half.
Defense the story behind the Suns third quarter surge
Conceding 59 first half points was not the way the Suns wanted to start the post-season. However, in the third quarter the defensive intensity that has been a trademark of this team all season showed up. Phoenix held Los Angeles to just 22 third quarter points, the lowest of any quarter for the Clippers.
The defense was important for Phoenix, as Durant and DBook went quiet for much of the quarter combining for six points, with all six coming from Booker. Fortunately for Phoenix, Craig continued his hard work, running out for a couple of layups and leading the team with eleven points in the quarter including a big three pointer late in the quarter.
Of course, the game is about more than just scoring and the hidden story inside much of the quarter and the game was foul trouble for Phoenix. Four of Phoenix’s five starters had at least three fouls by the end of the third quarter with only Paul not to three.
That foul trouble led to more time on the bench than Monty Williams likely wanted for Craig and Ayton in particular, who are both a big part of the team’s defensive plan. For Booker and Durant, the frequent calls left both layers spending too much time squawking at the officials. As a result, although Phoenix was able to take the lead in the third, the Suns could not pull away and they entered the fourth quarter tied at 81.
Defense and DBook disappear in the fourth quarter for Phoenix
After holding LA to just 22 points in the third quarter that effort and intensity could not be maintained in the fourth quarter, as the Suns gave up 34 points, the most in any quarter on the night. Had Phoenix scored 36 points in the fourth like they did in the second, the 34 against would have been okay, instead, the Suns again struggled to make buckets and ended up losing the game and homecourt in the series.
Phoenix hit just 11 of 26 shots in the fourth quarter, including going just two of eight from three-point range. The Clippers were not a lot better than the Suns, shooting 11 of 24, but did hit three three-pointers in the quarter, going 3 of 9 from distance. However, the Clippers were 9 of 9 from the free throw line, whereas the Suns only took five free throws in the fourth quarter.
Those free throws and that extra three-pointer were the difference in the game, especially the last four free throws that came after a Russell Westbrook offensive rebound and a block. That block was on Booker late, after the Suns guard passed on a potential game tying step-back three and instead drove to the bucket, where Westbrook blocked his left-handed attempt. Booker did score a meaningless hoop in the waning seconds, but he only scored four points in the quarter as our star never got going, but finished with 26 points.
With the win, the Clippers take home court from Phoenix and put the Suns behind the eight ball early. Fortunately, this is a best of seven game series and not three, but Phoenix better figure things out fast, because the Clippers have come to play and at some point, Paul George is likely going to return.