It was just last week that the Clippers hosted the Phoenix Suns and only nine days later they were playing them again at the Intuit Dome.
Before the game, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said there weren’t a lot of advantages to playing a team like the Suns so soon again, especially a team with lethal weapons Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. At least they didn’t have to face Bradley Beal, who didn’t play Thursday because of an injured elbow.
It looked as if the Clippers had found an advantage when they jumped on the Suns early, building a 19-point lead in the first quarter that grew to 21 in the third.
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The Clippers, however, were unable to hold the lead and lost 125-119 to the Suns despite having five players score in double figures.
That’s because Booker torched the Clippers for 40 points to go along with 11 assists and five rebounds.
James Harden led the Clippers with a triple-double of 25 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds. It was his 78th career triple-double, moving him into a tie with Hall of Fame legend and one-time Laker Wilt Chamberlain for seventh-most in NBA history.
Harden surpassed 26,000 career points, becoming one of 20 players in league history to reach the milestone.
The Clippers lost their season opener to the Suns by three points at the Intuit Dome, and are 0-3 at their new home in Inglewood.
The Clippers saw their 70-52 halftime lead dwindle to just two points entering the fourth quarter. It didn’t help the Clippers that Norman Powell (23 points) left for the locker room after he was hit in the face. He returned to the game in the fourth quarter.
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“We know what they are running, we know how they tried to attack us last game, we know how we need to play, how we need to attack them,” Lue said before the game. “So, when you play a team this close early in the season, I think you get a chance to kind of figure out what teams are trying to be going forward, what their identity is going to be and how they want to play, style of play. So, hopefully we catch them early enough that we know exactly what they are going to do and what they try to do.”
The Clippers started this game strong, shooting 61.5% from the field in the first quarter. Their defense was on point during those first 12 minutes, holding the Suns 36.4% from the field before things went south.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
