Phoenix Suns overcome 21-point deficit in win over Los Angeles Clippers

Things looked awfully scary for the Phoenix Suns early in their Thursday night meeting with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Nothing could go right for the Suns, who made mistakes on both ends of the floor in the second quarter and trailed by more than 20 points.

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

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

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

The Suns were without Bradley Beal due to an elbow injury, while Clippers player Kawhi Leonard is still out with a knee injury that sidelined him for every 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 went:

The Suns fell down 13-4 early thanks to a mix of turnovers and poor shooting, which ultimately led to coach Mike Budenholzer calling a timeout. Phoenix’s energy did not change during the next part of the first, as Budenholzer was once again forced to call a timeout at 27-13 with just over three minutes left in the quarter.

Los Angeles jumped out to a 37-20 lead in the second quarter, with James Harden posting a smooth 12-7-5 stat line.

The Suns rallied between quarters, putting together a 13-2 run to start the second and cut Los Angeles’ lead to single digits with just under nine minutes left in the half.

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

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

It didn’t take long for the Suns to take their first-ever lead of the game after just two minutes in action, eventually increasing by four before Ty Lue stopped the action with a timeout.

As in their previous match, baskets were exchanged by both teams until the final moments, although the momentum swung in Phoenix’s way with just under three minutes remaining. Booker knocked in a contested three-point attempt before Royce O’Neale stole the ball and put it on the other end on the ensuing possession, pushing the Suns to their largest lead of the night, 115-107.

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

Two more free throws from O’Neale left the game all but frozen, with Phoenix leaving the court as the winner as the final buzzer sounded.

Kevin Durant: 18 points, five rebounds, four assists
Devin Boeker: 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, starting with the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday.