LOS ANGELES – The playoff woes continued for the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday when they suffered their second consecutive playoff loss without Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.
Leonard missed his second straight postseason game with a sprained right knee. George also has remained out with the same injury since March 21.
The Clippers put up another tough fight without their stars, but it wasn’t enough to stop a Phoenix Suns 112-100 win. Plus, the Suns had all three of their stars in Kevin Durant, Chris Paul and Devin Booker.
Durant and Booker combined for 61 points against some creative lineups from head coach Tyronn Lue. Lue replaced Nicolas Batum with Marcus Morris Sr., who had not started since March 25.
When asked in his postgame press conference if he felt like he found something with Saturday’s rotations that he can utilize in Game 5, head coach Tyronn Lue simply answered, “No.”
Turning point: The Clippers opened the game with a 21-7 at the end of the first quarter that gave them a seven-point lead. One quarter and eight live ball turnovers later, Los Angeles trailed the Suns, 48-47, by halftime.
A 9-0 scoring run from the Clippers to start the third turned into a five-point deficit by the end of the quarter. Then, 12 points and some key jump shots from Chris Paul in the final quarter helped the Suns capture their third payoff game in a row.
What it means: Phoenix advanced to 3-1 and pushed the Clippers to the brink of elimination. Both teams will now make their way back to Phoenix for Game 5. The Suns captured their first home win in Game 2 and have been building a win streak ever since.
Hits: WIithout Leonard and George, the Clippers bench produced 26 points while Phoenix’s bench had 9.
Misses: After allowing 46 from the Suns on Thursday, the Clippers gave Phoenix 27 more attempts at the free throw line on Saturday.
Stat of the game: Russell Westbrook did not get a single free throw attempt, but still led his team in Game 4 with 37 points. According to ClutchPoints, Westbrook is now the second ever NBA player to do so. The first was Chuck Person in 1991.
Up next: Los Angeles will have one more chance to extend their season and series on Tuesday at the Footprint Center for Game 5 in Phoenix. The Suns captured their first win in Game 2 at their stadium and finished their regular season with a 28-13 home record. The Clippers meanwhile finished 21-2- on the road.
