Phoenix Suns snap 2-game skid behind Big 3, avoid season series sweep vs. LA Clippers

Devin Booker's 37 points, Bradley Beal's 26 and Kevin Durant's 24 propelled the Phoenix Suns (47-33) to a 124-108 road win at the Los Angeles Clippers (51-29) on Wednesday.

The victory ended Phoenix's two-game skid, snapped L.A.'s four-game win streak and thwarted the Clippers from a four-game season series sweep. The Suns redeemed their blowout home loss to the Clippers on Tuesday.

Clippers' backup guards Bones Hyland and Brandon Boston Jr. scored career-highs of 37 points and 23, respectively, in the absence of the team's injured stars Kawhi Leonard (knee), Paul George (knee), James Harden (foot), Russell Westbrook (hand), and the starting center Ivica Zubac (ankle).

The game mostly had a close margin with 22 lead changes and 10 ties. Phoenix's biggest lead was 16 and L.A. led by as much as eight.

Hyland scored his final bucket at 9:38 in the fourth to put the Clippers up, 100-96, but then L.A. didn’t make a field goal between Boston’s mid-range jump shot at 7:48 through his follow-up dunk at 2:40 left to play. The Suns were ahead, 114-108 on Boston’s dunk, and pulled away thereafter.

The Suns, who remain in the seventh spot in the Western Conference at a half game behind the Pelicans, next play the second of their three-game season-closing road trip at the Sacramento Kings (45-34) on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Kings are eighth in the Western Conference standings.

Booker, Beal keep Suns close in 3rd quarter

Phoenix's Big 3 scored well to keep the team in the game, but the Suns trailed L.A., 93-92 entering the fourth.

Devin Booker scored nine of his 25 points, Bradley Beal posted 10 of his total 22, and put up nine of his 17 in the third.

L.A.'s Bones Hyland is still unstoppable with his career-high 35 points, and had 11 in the third.

There were 14 lead changes and five ties in the third.

Hyland, Clippers match Suns' surge in 2nd quarter

Bones Hyland has scored his season-high 24 points (10-for-12 FG) and led L.A. on a 20-4 run to close the first half on a 56-55 advantage over Phoenix. The short-handed Clippers ended the half on Hyland's stepback 3 to regain the lead at two seconds left.

The Suns started the second quarter on a 23-9 run for the game’s largest lead of 15 with just under five minutes left in the half.

Bradley Beal (12 points), Grayson Allen (three points), Eric Gordon (eight points) and Royce O’Neale (seven points) each made 3s during that Phoenix run.

After Devin Booker's stellar first-quarter shooting, he missed both his shot attempts in the second and still has 16 points. Kevin Durant has struggled with just eight points on a mere 3-of-12 shooting.

Booker bounces back on hot shooting to carry Suns in 1st quarter

Devin Booker began the game on fire, scoring 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting and made four 3s to lead Phoenix to a 28-27 lead to close the opening period.

Booker's hot start redeemed himself from his season-worst 1-of-11 shooting in the Suns' Tuesday home loss to L.A.

Clippers' guard Bones Hyland traded buckets with Booker in the first quarter, hitting a nearly perfect 6-of-7 for 15 points.

L.A. had the game's largest lead of eight points thus far while Phoenix led by as much as three. There were five ties and four lead changes in the competitive first quarter.

Starting lineups

The Suns are starting Devin Booker and Bradley Beal in the backcourt, forwards Royce O'Neale and Kevin Durant, and center Jusuf Nurkic returns from his Tuesday absence.

The Clippers are starting their replacements in Bones Hyland and Terance Mann at the one and two spots, swingman Amir Coffey, PJ Tucker at power forward and Mason Plumlee in the middle.

This means the Clippers are without their stars Kawhi Leonard (knee), Paul George (knee), James Harden (foot), their usual sixth man Westbrook and starting big Zubac.

Clippers’ Westbrook, Zubac ruled out

L.A. coach Ty Lue confirmed in his pregame media session that Westbrook (hand) and Ivica Zubac (ankle) have been downgraded to out.

Injury reports: Clippers without stars George, Harden, Leonard

The Suns is nearly at full strength but will be missing backup guard Damion Lee (right meniscus surgery), and has been out all season.

The Clippers have a lengthy injury report with four of its stars on it, including top scorer Kawhi Leonard (right knee inflammation), Leonard's fellow 2024 All-Star Paul George (left knee soreness), and former MVP James Harden (right foot inflammation). L.A.'s other former MVP Russell Westbrook (left hand contusion) and the team's starting big Ivica Zubac (left ankle inflammation) are both questionable.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Suns snap two-game skid behind Big 3 in win over LA Clippers