Los Angeles– The Los Angeles Clippers came up big on the road in Phoenix with a 131-122 victory over the Suns to push their current win streak to four games.
The Clippers “Big Three” combined for 85 points against the Suns, who were without their All-Star forward Kevin Durant, who missed his second consecutive game due to a sore hamstring.
Paul George led the trio in scoring with 33 points shooting 8 of 14 from the field, going 5 of 10 from 3-point range. In addition, Kawhi Leonard scored 30 points on 9 of 16 shooting and 4 of 6 from deep.
James Harden recorded his eighth double-double of the season with 22 points and 11 assists on 7-13 shooting and 4-7 from behind the arc. 7
The Clippers are 18-5 in their last 23 games and had the number 2 offensive rating in the entire NBA at 122% and a 59% assist rate in December only trailing the Boston Celtics. Now, they start the new year at a 132% offensive rating with a 56% assist rate.
Leonard spoke about the current success of The Clippers starting lineup and the potential going forward.
“Time will tell,” Leonard said. “We just got to not get complacent and keep setting higher goals for ourselves”
Not getting complacent must be a common theme within the Clippers organization right now because Paul George reiterated the same thing when speaking on the current state of the team.
“This is a team that’s not content on where we’re at,” George said. “We’re always asking questions on how can we get better, what we got to do. And we work. You know, we’ve been a group that’s been working. And so, you know, it’s a cliche, but sky is the limit for this group.”
The Clippers shot 58% in the first half on 24 of 41 shooting from the field. In addition, they made 9 of 18 attempts from three for 50%.
Paul George scored 21 of his 33 in the first half.
The Suns shot 45% from the field and 2 of 15 for 20% from three in the first half.
The Clippers never trailed throughout the contest and took a 70-51 lead into halftime.
The Clippers’ offensive efficiency kept flowing through the third quarter. The Clippers shot 64% from the field on 11 of 17 attempts and 66% from the three-point line making 6 of 9 shots and stretching their lead to the largest of night at 23 points.
In the fourth, the Clippers’ offense cooled down as the Suns started to heat up in the desert. The Suns shot 68% from the field making 11 of 16 shots, made 6 of 10 from three for 60%.
Devin Booker led the way for the Suns with 35 points on 11 for 15 shots for 73% and 5 of 8 from three for 62%. Bradley Beal added 21 points.
The Suns cut the Clippers’ lead down to eight points with the score being 118-110 with 3:50 left on the game clock.
The Clippers shot 38% from the field in the fourth making 7 of 18 attempts but did shoot 87% from the free throw line making 7 of 8 attempts from the free throw to put the game away for the Clippers.
The Clippers now continue on the road to New Orleans for a Friday night matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans who beat them last time here in Los Angeles.
