NBA

Phoenix Suns at LA Clippers

· National Basketball Association
1-0, 1-0 Away
Final
116 - 113

0-1, 0-1 Home

Durant, Beal lead Suns to 116-113 OT victory over Clippers, spoiling LA's Intuit Dome opener

Stephen A.: Clippers are a first-round team at best

James Harden had 29 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers. He had a chance to send it to double overtime, but missed the second of two free throws with 4.8 seconds remaining.

Jusuf Nurkic gave the Suns a three-point advantage with a pair of free throws. The Clippers had one last chance to send it to another extra session, but Grayson Allen forced a turnover near midcourt after the inbounds pass.

Ivica Zubac had 21 points for the Clippers, but fouled out with 2:15 remaining in overtime.

Takeaways Suns: Mike Budenholzer picked up the victory in his first game as Phoenix's coach and improved to 12-9 in his career against the Clippers.

Clippers: Norman Powell will go down as the player who made the first basket at Intuit Dome with his jumper 17 second into the game. ... LA had a 62-42 advantage in points in the paint and outrebounded the Suns by nine (51-42), but Zubac's foul trouble in overtime played a huge role.

Key moment The Clippers had a 99-90 lead before the Suns scored 11 straight points to go back on top. Devin Booker had four points during Phoenix's rally, but fouled out with 1:27 remaining. Harden scored four straight points to give LA a 103-101 advantage, but Durant tied it with a 15-footer with 21.2 seconds remaining.

Key stat The Suns were 1 of 4 from the field in overtime, but made all 10 of their foul shots. Nurkic and Beal were 4 of 4 and Durant made a pair.

Up next The Suns remain in Southern California to face the Lakers on Friday night, while the Clippers are at Denver on Saturday.

Regular Season Series

PHX leads series 1-0

Matchup Prediction

Clippers: 43.9%
Suns: 56.1%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Recent Plays

5th 0.0 End of Game 116 - 113
5th 0.0 End of the 1st Overtime 116 - 113
5th 1.1 James Harden lost ball turnover (Grayson Allen steals) 116 - 113
5th 3.0 Grayson Allen enters the game for Jusuf Nurkic 116 - 113
5th 3.0 Norman Powell enters the game for Kai Jones 116 - 113

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/phx.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originPHX https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/lac.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originLAC
38-78 FG 42-92
48.7 Field Goal % 45.7
15-38 3PT 8-29
39.5 Three Point % 27.6
25-34 FT 21-30
73.5 Free Throw % 70.0
42 Rebounds 51
4 Offensive Rebounds 13
38 Defensive Rebounds 38
25 Assists 27
12 Steals 9
9 Blocks 1
22 Turnovers 21
0 Team Turnovers 1
22 Total Turnovers 22
0 Technical Fouls 0
0 Total Technical Fouls 0
0 Flagrant Fouls 0
16 Points Conceded Off Turnovers 23
15 Fast Break Points 16
42 Points in Paint 62
23 Fouls 29
14 Largest Lead 10

Game Information

Venue: Intuit Dome

Location: Inglewood, CA
Attendance: 17,927 · Capacity:

2024-25 Pacific Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
LA Lakers 2 0 1.000 - W2
Golden State 2 0 1.000 - W2
Phoenix 1 1 .500 1 L1
Sacramento 0 1 .000 1.5 L1
LA Clippers 0 1 .000 1.5 L1
Full Standings

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