The last 90 seconds of the second duel between Suns and Clippers lasted 33 minutes – and were crowned by a crazy final. Phoenix now leads 2-0.
The final second: DeAndre Ayton stuffs the ball into the ring via Ivica Zubac.
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Nothing seems to stop these Suns. Not due to the renewed absence of their strategist Chris Paul (in the COVID-19 protocol) and not due to a delay of 0.7 seconds on the clock. In the end, despite all the adversities, there was a 104-103 win against the Los Angeles Clippers, which meant a 2-0 lead in this best-of-seven series.
Before the ninth Suns win in a row was dry, the fans in the arena experienced more than half an hour of crunchtime with many changes in mood. Ultimately, two discarded free throws by Clippers star Paul George during the Californians’ late catch-up were decisive in favor of Phoenix. George (26 points) had previously provided a 103:10 lead with two baskets, but then – not for the first time on this tense evening – failed on the line.
Zubac loses contact with Ayton
And so the Suns got one last small chance, with less than a second on the clock: Jae Crowder threw in in the left corner of the field in front of the opposing basket, where Devin Booker with a block clippers center Ivica Zubac from his Opponent DeAndre Ayton separates for a moment. The decisive moment. Because Ayton uses the small space to screw himself up in front of the ring and stuff the ball through the trap. 104: 103, final siren – and cheers after the review of the referees counted the basket!
Booker gets a bleeding nose
“I just trusted my team-mates and coaches. Jae played a great pass,” said match winner Ayton after his strong evening with 24 points and 14 rebounds. There were other match winners in the “Valley”. Cameron Payne, for example, the 26-year-old Paul representative, who pulled the strings in this important game with 29 points, nine assists and no loss of the ball and the poor throw rate of top scorer Booker (5 of 16 out of the field for 20 points) more than concealed. Booker, on the other hand, suffered a bleeding wound on his nose in a crash with Patrick Beverley and had to be sewn with three stitches. It was initially unclear whether the severely swollen nose had broken. “It feels better,” said Booker: “If we had lost, the pain would be a little stronger.”
Another 0-2 deficit for the Clippers
The Clippers are now driving back to LA with a 2-0 deficit in their luggage. A familiar feeling for the Californians, whose top man Kawhi Leonard was condemned to watch again because of a knee injury. In round one against the Dallas Mavericks and also in round two against the Utah Jazz, the Clippers had turned a 2-0 deficit. The Suns should be warned.
