All set to run it back again for a second matchup in three nights, the Phoenix Suns are close to becoming whole again, while the Los Angeles Clippers have availability issues.
Both statuses were on display Thursday when the Suns earned a 115-102 home victory over the Clippers. Now the scene shifts to Inglewood, Calif., on Saturday.
The Suns saw Jalen Green make his season debut after recovering from a hamstring strain. He delivered 29 points in the victory. Devin Booker added 24 points as Phoenix won for the third time in four games following a four-game losing streak.
The Clippers played without a pair of stars in James Harden (personal) and Kawhi Leonard (ankle) as their losing streak reached three games. Leonard missed his second consecutive contest following an injury that occurred late in a home loss to the Miami Heat on Monday.
While the Suns await the return of Dillon Brooks (abdomen), they have some momentum while heading back on the road, where they are 0-4 this season.
In addition to Thursday’s contributions from Green and Booker, Grayson Allen scored 18 points, Royce O’Neale had 17 and Mark Williams delivered 13 points with 10 rebounds.
Green fit right in with the group after arriving in the offseason in the trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets.
“It’s not easy (with) ups and downs of coming back from an injury, wanting to play with a new group, in a new city, and then to be that in rhythm,” Suns head coach Jordan Ott said. “Yeah, that’s unique. So, it was everything that we expected, and definitely more.”
Green was 10 of 20 from the floor and 6 of 13 from 3-point range in 23 minutes while playing with Booker for the first time.
“Really build off each other, talking the whole game,” Green said of Booker. “He’s a veteran guard. He’s been there before, done it before, so I’m learning everything I can from him while just trying to help him win.”
Without their star duo, the Clippers received 23 points with 11 rebounds from Ivica Zubac, while Bradley Beal struggled against his former team. Beal scored just five points on 2 of 14 shooting in 20 minutes.
A three-time All-Star in 11 seasons with the Washington Wizards, Beal struggled in 106 games over two seasons with the Suns and was not any better in his return to the desert. He was booed by Suns fans every time he touched the ball.
“You got fans that didn’t like me here and you got fans who did like me here,” said Beal, who was released by the Suns in July. “You can’t please everybody; I learned that at a very young age. You’ll drive yourself crazy trying to make everybody happy. I enjoyed my time here.”
While Los Angeles has struggled with turnovers this season, Thursday’s issue was letting the Suns make 19 3-pointers, the most the defense has allowed this season.
“We allowed a lot of threes, and to give up 40 points in the third quarter, it’s hard to come back from that,” Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said.
