The undermanned Los Angeles Clippers battled hard in their first-round series against the Phoenix Suns but ultimately lost in five games.
They could have extended the series as they were leading in Game 5, but the Suns used a huge third quarter to take control, with Devin Booker leading the way. After the game, Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue admitted they had no answer for Booker.
“Booker was tough all series,” Lue said. “We couldn’t stop him, we had no answer for him. We tried to blitz, we couldn’t get him blitzed, we tried to fire, we couldn’t get our fires and he was really elusive. Could split, can dribble around and it was just tough for us.”
(starts at 2:07 mark):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dN5O4AM3ou4
Booker had 25 points in the third quarter alone and finished the game with 47. He also had 8 rebounds and 2 steals to his name as the Suns won 136-130. Booker has arguably been the best player in the playoffs so far, as he has averaged 37.2 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 6.4 APG, 2.6 SPG, and 1.0 BPG. He was also incredibly efficient, shooting 60.2% from the field and 46.7% from beyond the arc.
Kevin Durant Was Full Of Praise For Devin Booker
When the Suns traded for Kevin Durant earlier this season from the Brooklyn Nets, he was expected to be their best player, but it has been Booker so far in the playoffs. Durant was full of praise for his teammate after this masterful showing and added that he is grateful to get a chance to play with him.
KD’s presence is partly why Booker has been so great, as the Clippers were focusing on Durant in this series. It gave Booker more freedom, and he made the Clippers pay. The Conference Semifinals now will pose a much tougher challenge in the Denver Nuggets, and the Suns will need Booker to keep this up if they are to get past the top seed in the West.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
