PHOENIX – After Devin Booker scored a 40-point triple-double against them in Game 1, Paul George said the Phoenix Suns were another challenge for the LA Clippers.
After defeating Luka Doncic and Donovan Mitchell in the first two rounds, the Clippers must now find a way to slow Booker. With Chris Paul on health and safety logs, Booker was an unstoppable playmaker who delivered 40 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists to lead the Suns to a 120-114 win over the Clippers at the Phoenix Suns Arena on Sunday.
The Clippers have lagged behind in each of their previous series before making any adjustments. And they believe they will repeat the same thing against Phoenix.
“This is a different team from the other two teams we faced,” George said of the Suns versus the Mavericks and Jazz. “Play a little more guard. So we just have to figure out how to counter what we’re going to do. We’ll find another game plan.”
“As much as we wanted this game, I think this was a good feeling game to see adjustments. We adjusted great and, you know, we were great at playing better over the course of the series.”
George took the opportunity again when Kawhi Leonard missed his third game in a row with a sprained right knee. George scored 34 points and hit seven 3-pointers, the third time he has done so against the Suns in the regular season and postseason this season.
But Booker trumped George, becoming only the fourth player to record a 40-point triple-double in conference finals history, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information.
Her ability to slow Booker hampered an injury to Marcus Morris Sr. The starting power forward had left knee pain and was treated at halftime, according to ESPN’s Rachel Nichols.
Morris, who gives the Clippers flexibility when they move to a smaller line-up to switch defensively, didn’t start the second half. He tried to play but was only able to leave five minutes after half and sat for the final 9:05 of the fourth quarter.
Clippers coach Ty Lue said he wasn’t sure how Morris was doing after the game.
The Clippers failed to contain Booker in the second half when the Suns Guard had 29 points, eight assists and seven rebounds while playing the entire half.
This is the third game in a row that the Clippers couldn’t contain the opposing star. In Game 1 of the first round against Dallas, Doncic had a triple-double of 31 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in a Mavericks win. In Game 1 of the second round against Utah, Mitchell had 45 points in a Jazz win.
“[Booker] Played with the ball but it does a great job of playing the ball, be it outside the ball screens, it opens up really, really well in the middle, “said Reggie Jackson, Clippers point guard, of the new challenge, Booker defend other two [Doncic and Mitchell], Really [they are more] 3-ball and [getting] to the rims guys. They are all three-tier scorers.
“[But with Booker], it’s hard when you put so much pressure downhill and then it pulls up. It is the complete package. We have to find a way to lock him up. “
The Clippers will probably have to do without Leonard in Game 2, whose status for the final of the Western Conference is uncertain. And now Morris is going nuts. But George believes the Clippers will do what they did in each of the first two rounds when they became the first team in NBA history to break a 2-0 deficit in multiple series in the same postseason.
“I expect we will get better as the series goes on,” said George. “We were great at it. It’s not something to panic about right now. You know, we were at the bottom of Kawhi. We’re playing with a crazy Marcus. Yes, they don’t have a Chris Paul either, but it’s a game of adjustments. We’ll find out what we need to do better. “
DeMarcus Cousins, who scored 11 points, said the Clippers will find out.
“We’ll adapt,” said Cousins. “I promise.”
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