The Phoenix Suns are advancing to the second round of the postseason for the third consecutive season.
Game 5 against the Clippers at the Footprint Center took lots of turns before the Suns won 136-130.
Devin Booker finished with 47 points (19-27 FG), 10 assists, and 8 rebounds. He erupted for 25 points in the third quarter. Book is a superstar and he proved it in this series (again).
“He was doing what Book does,” Monty Williams said. “He’s trained and waited for moments like that.”
In the first half, the Suns trailed 10-2 in the offensive rebound category, which lead to 21 second-chance points for the Clippers. It felt like this team wasn’t ready to closeout against the Clippers. The energy was non-existent on the court or in the crowd. Unless there were calls that didn’t go the Suns way. Then boos echoes throughout the Footprint Center.
Then with 7:01 left in the third quarter, Kevin Durant hit a transition triple to bring Phoenix within one-point (79-78). That woke the building up. The switch flipped.
Booker and Chris Paul were the next to score to regain the lead at 83-82. Phoenix never looked back. Well sort of. The Clippers got close near the end.
Durant finished with 31 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. He also nailed some daggers late as the Clippers were mounting a comeback.
The Phoenix Suns will face the No. 1 seeded Denver Nuggets in the second round. Game 1 is in Denver on Saturday April 29.
Jordan Spurgeon
