Phoenix Suns Overcome 21-Point Deficit in Win vs Los Angeles Clippers

Things were looking awfully spooky for the Phoenix Suns early in their Thursday night meeting with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Nothing could go right for the Suns, who found themselves making mistakes on both sides of the floor and down by over 20 points in the second quarter.

Yet when all was said and done, Phoenix persevered, and exited the Intuit Dome with a 125-119 win over the Clippers.

The Suns are now 4-1 on the season and are 2-0 against the Clippers after also defeating them in their regular season opener.

Devin Booker was the main source of Phoenix’s massive comeback, scoring 40 points on the night.

The Suns were without Bradley Beal due to an elbow injury while Clippers star Kawhi Leonard is still out with a knee injury that’s kept him sidelined for each game early in the regular season.

Rookie Ryan Dunn got the starting nod in Beal’s place and scored a career-high 16 points.

Here’s how the action panned out:

The Suns got down early 13-4 thanks to a mix of turnovers and poor shooting, eventually leading to coach Mike Budenholzer calling a timeout. Phoenix’s energy didn’t shift throughout the next stretch of the first, as Budenholzer again was forced to call for time down 27-13 with just over three minutes left in the quarter.

Los Angeles brought a 37-20 advantage into the second quarter with James Harden posting a smooth 12-7-5 stat line.

The Suns collected themselves between quarters and pieced together a 13-2 run to start the second and cutting the Los Angeles lead down to single digits with just under nine minutes to go in the half.

That momentum didn’t last long, as the Clippers built their lead back up to 18 moving into halftime in 70-52 fashion. Kevin Durant had a -24 plus-minus rating with four turnovers at the break while Harden was just two rebounds shy of a triple-double.

Phoenix went on a 17-3 run to cut the Clippers’ lead to six halfway through the third. The Suns hit 15 straight shots in the third – erasing a 21-point deficit and tying the game at 89-89 before Los Angeles carried a 93-91 lead into the fourth quarter.

It wasn’t long before the Suns took their very first lead of the game just two minutes into action, eventually going up by four before Ty Lue stopped action with a timeout.

Much like their prior matchup, baskets were exchanged by both squads down to the final moments, though momentum swung in Phoenix’s way with just under three minutes left. Booker knocked home a contested three-point attempt before Royce O’Neale stole the ball and laid it in on the other end on the ensuing possession to push the Suns ahead to their largest lead of the night, 115-107.

With the Clippers within three with under a minute left, O’Neale converted a wide-open shot from deep to push the Suns back up by six.

Two more free throws by O’Neale all but iced the game, seeing Phoenix walk off the court as winners when the final buzzer sounded.

Kevin Durant: 18 points, five rebounds, four assists
Devin Booker: 40 points, five rebounds, eight assists
Ryan Dunn: 16 points, four rebounds
Royce O’Neale: 21 points, seven rebounds

The Suns are back home for a three-game homestand, beginning with the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday.