Suns vs Clippers 2 NBA Conference Finals Score: Suns win 104-103

Suns vs Clippers Live Game 2 in NBA Conference Finals: Phoenix Suns vs LA Clippers- 23rd June NBA Playoffs LIVE stream, watch online, Schedules, Date, India time, Live Link, Scores: Suns win 104-103 in a dramatic encounter to lead the series 2-0

The Suns have taken a 2-0 lead in the series. In a dramatic match where the Suns had the lead up until the last quarter, the Clippers fought hard to keep up with them.

The Clippers even took a lead in the dying seconds of the 4th Quarter but the Suns somehow always took the lead back.

There was a lot of confusion in the final seconds as Paul George was fouled when the Clippers led by 1. He failed to convert any free-throw.

However, in a beautiful play set by the Executive of the Year 2021, Monty Williams saw Crowder’s inbound pass alley-ooped by Deandre Ayton with 0.8 seconds left.

Suns vs Clippers Quarter 4

They’re reviewing the lob for goaltending, but that looks good.

AYTON WINS IT ON THE LOB! GAME OVER! SUNS WIN!

Suns ball off of the miss! Only 0.8 seconds remaining. They’re gonna look at it again. Now the Suns have a free timeout for the review.

Suns ball, 0.9 left on the clock. Let’s see what the Suns come up with.

Paul George misses both the clutch free-throws. The Suns now have the chance to win the game with 7.8 remaining.

Quick foul. Bridges sends George to the line. He can push the lead up to 3, but even if he makes them both, the Suns will have a chance to tie. They do have a timeout.

Replay gives the ball to the Clippers off of that Patrick Beverley strip. That’s a rule he’s intimately familiar with. On Christmas, 2019, the Clippers beat the Lakers the exact same way: Beverley stripped LeBron, but the replay showed that LeBron touched the ball last.

The officials decide that the ball touched Booker last and it is Clipper ball with 9.3 seconds left. They lead by 1

The Suns now trail again with 9 seconds left on the clock

The ball was knocked out, but it’s still Phoenix ball.

Big block and a big bucket! pic.twitter.com/mjcLr7GKJ4

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) June 23, 2021

BOOKER FOR THE LEAD! SUNS BACK UP 102-101! TIMEOUT CLIPPERS!

So a more cogent recap of what just happened to give the Clippers the lead back: the Suns elected not to call timeout after George’s free throws so they could hunt Luke Kennard in pick-and-roll rather than let the Clippers sub him out. They did just that, but Ivica Zubac responded with one of the biggest plays of his career, a block of Cameron Payne on the layup. George gets control of the ball and gets the transition layup. The Clippers now lead by one with 30.9 seconds remaining.

Booker hit Beverley in the face and they’re looking at that as a potentially hostile act.

The Clippers are shooting 42 percent from the field. The Suns are shooting 20% on 3’s. It has been an ugly, ugly game, and the team that comes away with one or two big baskets at the end here is going to be the winner.

The Clippers have missed back-to-back 3’s that would’ve tied the game. They’re so close but they just can’t get over the hump.

Cool Hand Luke. 👌🏼 pic.twitter.com/LNS6oI7Ucb

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) June 23, 2021

Smart play by Booker on that side-to-side swipe from George. He knows the Clippers are in the penalty. That’s free throws.

Big fella with the big finish. pic.twitter.com/zDOx8Z8R9O

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) June 23, 2021

The Clippers are going through these periods of abysmal offense and abysmal defense. Right now, they’re scoring quite well but can’t keep the Suns from doing so themselves. They need to get both sides of the ball right if they’re gonna steal this win.

Threadin' the needle. pic.twitter.com/UQlsh96kwI

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) June 23, 2021

Booker hits all three, and this one seems to be slipping away from the Clippers.

Booker fouled on the 3. It’s a late whistle on Terance Mann, but now he’ll have a chance to push the lead up to seven points for Phoenix. The Clippers seem to have missed their window here.

We’ll enter the fourth quarter with the Suns leading the Clippers, 75-71, but the real question is when Devin Booker will be able to return to the game for the Suns. If he misses much more time, the Clippers will have a real chance to steal this game and home-court advantage in the series. If he’s back soon, though, the Suns have outplayed the Clippers all night. They should feel good about their ability to close this one out.

Suns vs Clippers Quarter 3

This is a golden opportunity for the Clippers. Chris Paul is out. Devin Booker is in the locker room. DeAndre Ayton is on the bench. If they’re going to win this series, it almost HAS to start now.

😤 @DeandreAyton pic.twitter.com/ejbZY7A31R

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) June 23, 2021

That’s the danger of going small for the Clippers. They have no rim protection on the floor, and that leads to an easy layup for Cam Johnson.

Devin Booker is going back to the locker room to get that nose looked at. He might need stitches.

Devin Booker is bleeding on the floor after that shot in the face from Patrick Beverley. That’ll be his fourth foul.

Ayton blocks Jackson and then scores at the rim, and all of a sudden, the Suns lead by nine. The crowd in Phoenix is going absolutely wild.

That’s 23 points for Cameron Payne, who is doing just about everything for the Suns on offense tonight.

Patrick Beverley is playing elite defense on Devin Booker tonight. The Clippers are dropping Ivica Zubac towards the paint off of screens and it hasn’t mattered because Beverley is chasing him down before he takes his mid-range shots.

GREAT play by Patrick Beverley. He sneaks in between Phoenix’s rebounders and draws that off-ball foul on Reggie Jackson’s miss.

Make it 21 for Cameron Payne! He’s having the game of his life with Chris Paul out. He has almost 40 percent of Phoenix’s points thus far and it has protected the Suns from a really tough Devin Booker night thus far.

And just like that, the Suns have the lead back. Cameron Payne has 19.

That was a really unnecessary foul by Patrick Beverley on Cameron Payne and Jae Crowder is not happy about it. It doesn’t look flagrant on first viewing (though they’re reviewing) but it was a hard, hard hit. That’s Beverley’s third foul.

Paul George gets knocked down and it doesn’t matter. He hits the jumper to put the Clippers up three. This has been a very nice response from the Clippers to open the second half.

Another miss for Booker to open the second, and now Reggie Jackson has a chance to give the Clippers the lead at the foul line.

What kind of sorcery is this… pic.twitter.com/1uEeoHRrQb

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) June 23, 2021

Suns vs Clippers Quarter 2

Paul George misses at the end of the half, and he’s done plenty of that tonight. He’s 4-of-12 from the field, but the Clippers trail by only one, 48-47, because Devin Booker is 3-of-10 from the field. The role players have carried the load thus far. Cam Payne has 16 while Reggie Jackson has 11.

Making plays on both ends of the court. pic.twitter.com/CVpcaFaFJU

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) June 23, 2021

Beverley hits a 3 and the Clippers just keep hanging around. They’re shooting 80% on 3’s in this quarter and that’s keeping them in this game.

That’s 16 points for Cameron Payne! He’s picking up the slack for Devin Booker tonight and has been the best player on the floor.

Devin Booker just hasn’t been as sharp as he was in an incredible Game 1 performance. He’s 2-of-8 from the field, and Jackson’s shot cuts the lead back down to three. The Clippers are keeping this competitive, but the Suns have been better on both ends thus far.

Book things pic.twitter.com/RCZEHTl9R1

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) June 23, 2021

Dario Saric has the Suns lead up to seven, but it seems like every time the Suns have grabbed control of the game, the Clippers just answer with a 3. It’s math vs. effectiveness thus far.

Terance Mann continues to impress with another 3. Even if the Clippers lose this series, his development is a major silver lining for them moving forward.

Rondo from range. 👌🏾 pic.twitter.com/MXc7oSnzPS

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) June 23, 2021

Moving screen on Cousins. He has been a GAPING negative, but some good shooting luck won’t reflect that in the plus-minus category. He can’t move on defense and he’s really not generating much on offense.

It looks like Zubac and Batum are the only viable centers for the Clippers in this series.

The Suns are missing good shots and the Clippers are making bad shots. That’s how this game is close. The shot quality between these two teams really isn’t close right now.

The Suns are hunting DeMarcus Cousins on defense (as they should, because he has no foot speed left), but they aren’t making the shots they’re generating out of those actions. They’ll get all of the open jumpers they want with him in the game.

They just have to make them. Payne just hit the floater rather than attack Cousins in the paint.

Suns vs Clippers Quarter 1

Shot-clock violation, and a bad one at that. George dribbled away from the shot clock when no outcome would’ve prevented Phoenix from taking a shot at the end of the quarter.

PG with the footwork and fills it up. pic.twitter.com/KHUSOZ2oVn

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) June 23, 2021

We’re nearly at the end of the first quarter, but we’ve only seen six players for Clippers. Mann is the only reserve we’ve seen thus far. That likely means Nic Batum is coming in at center when we return for the second quarter.

I have no words 🤯 pic.twitter.com/mbFtB9Il92

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) June 23, 2021

Paul George is now 0-for-4 from the field.

And that’s two fouls on Booker! Offensive foul. The Suns aren’t going to bench Booker for foul trouble, but that’s something to keep an eye on. What’s worse, the Suns used their challenge and failed on that last play. They can’t review that foul. The Suns are sticking with Crowder just as the Clippers stuck with Beverley.

The challenge is unsuccessful. The push off came after the illegal contact from Jae Crowder.

Phoenix is challenging that call, and they have a case. Paul George is known for using his off-arm to push defenders away, and he might’ve just done that there.

That’s two fouls on Crowder, and he is essential to Phoenix’s defense. Now it’s up to Monty Williams to make the tough call after Ty Lue stuck with Beverley.

Crowder to Ayton for the alley-oop in transition AND the foul! That missed Reggie Jackson layup is going to turn out to be a four-point swing here, but that Crowder pass was incredible. He’s not known as a passer, but with a lob threat as athletic as Ayton, he came close enough for the points.

With half of a quarter now in the books, it seems as though the changes to the Clippers lineup has had the intended effects. This is a much uglier, defensive-oriented game, and the Clippers are doing a very nice job of protecting the paint with Zubac in the game. We’ll see if they stay big with Cousins or go small with Batum when Zubac leaves the floor.

That’s a tough break for the Clippers. Beverley reaches on Booker and that’s his second foul with only around five minutes in the books. He’s clearly their best option on Booker, but now he’s in foul trouble. The Clippers are leaving him in, but he’ll have to be careful.

Zubac catches Morris’ miss and lays it in, but Ayton gives the Suns their first points of the night inside. It’s 6-2.

Clippers miss a golden opportunity there as Booker gambles for the steal and misses. Morris throws the lob pass away for an unforced turnover.

Sloppy start thus far. A couple of turnovers, an offensive foul, defenses have had the advantage.

Morris is short on his first shot, not a great sign with the knee issue, but he recovers on the offensive rebound to hit a jumper from the nail.

Two changes for the Clippers here: Beverley and Zubac are in the starting lineup. Mann and Batum are coming off of the bench. Defense and size are clearly the priorities here. Marcus Morris is in fact starting despite a knee injury.

Suns vs Clippers Starting 5 and Pre-Game Updates

RUN IT BACK. pic.twitter.com/fz4bzLCEqN

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) June 23, 2021

.@Verizon Starting 5️⃣ vs. Phoenix

1️⃣ » @patbev21
2️⃣ » @Reggie_Jackson
3️⃣ » @Yg_Trece
4️⃣ » @MookMorris2
5️⃣ » @ivicazubac pic.twitter.com/mfduiZhYZ6

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) June 23, 2021

The Clippers will be kicking themselves as they will feel they missed out on a great chance to steal home-court advantage against a Suns team missing a key player in Chris Paul.

The Suns had the benefit of extra days off and it certainly showed as they looked like the fresher team out there, particularly Booker who recorded his first triple-double.

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Match Details: Phoenix Suns vs LA Clippers

Time: 06:30 AM IST

Date: 23-06-2021

Venue: Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix

NBA Playoffs Live Stream: Phoenix Suns vs LA Clippers- Match Preview