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Suns start season with 116-113 victory in overtime thriller against Clippers

Oct 23, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Royce O'Neale (00) shoots the ball against LA Clippers guard Amir Coffey (7) and forward Nicolas Batum (33) in the first half at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Phoenix Suns showed a lot of grit to come back and pull off a scrappy, 116-113 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in their season opener and the first game at the brand-new, state-of-the-art Intuit Dome.

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Phoenix, known for its fourth-quarter struggles last season, found itself down by as much as 10 in the fourth quarter, but was able to fight back even with Devin Booker fouling out of the game late in the fourth and 22 team turnovers on the night.

Booker and Kevin Durant were uncharacteristically not attempting a lot of shots through the first three quarters, but played huge roles in the comeback. Durant scored 14 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, while Booker had nine of his 15 in the fourth. Durant, who also had seven rebounds, three steals and seven turnovers in a game-high 44 minutes, hit a very tough jumper to send the game to overtime.

Bradley Beal, who did not score in the fourth quarter, was still the most consistent player all night, finishing with 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting and was 4-for-6 from 3 to go along with three rebounds, a steal and a block in 38 minutes.

Tyus Jones turned in a solid performance in his Suns debut with 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting, eight assists, 0 turnovers and two steals in 35 minutes. Jusuf Nurkić was the other Suns’ player in double figures with 11 points (2-of-5 shooting), nine rebounds and two steals. He hit four huge free throws in overtime to seal the game.

Royce O’Neale played 24 minutes off the bench, ending with five points and five rebounds. Rookie center Oso Ighodaro looked really promising in his 12 minutes on the floor, recording two points, six rebounds and playing great defense.

Phoenix overall played a very rocky game with some high moments that ended up being enough. As a team, the Suns shot 38-for-78 (48.7%) from the floor, 15-for-38 (39.5%) from 3 and 25-for-34 (73.5%) from the free-throw line, as “The Wall” at Intuit Dome gave Phoenix problems from the line all night.

Los Angeles, without Kawhi Leonard due to injury, was able to throw Phoenix off its rhythm with pressuring defense throughout the game. The Suns limited James Harden in the first half, but he scored 25 points in the second half/overtime, nearly finishing with a triple double of 29 points (10-of-28 shooting, 2-for-9 from 3), 12 rebounds and eight assists. Even with foul trouble throughout the game, Ivica Zubac added 21 points (8-of-13 shooting) and nine rebounds. Derrick Jones Jr. shot 5-for-6 from the floor in his Clippers’ debut, contributing 12 points, four rebounds and two steals.

As a team, the Clippers were also turnover-happy, coughing up the ball 22 times. Los Angeles shot 42-for-92 (45.7% from the field), 8-for-29 (27.6%) from 3 and 21-for-30 (70%) from the free-throw line. One stat that almost did Phoenix in was 13 offensive rebounds for the Clippers compared to just four for the Suns.

Both teams start sloppy

The first quarter was really sloppy for both teams. Both Nurkić and Zubac had two fouls apiece in the first four minutes of the game. Los Angeles recorded five offensive rebounds, four turnovers and was 8-for-21 (38.1%) overall and 1-for-9 (11.1%) from deep in the quarter.

The Suns surprisingly played 11 players in the first 10 minutes of action. Beal and Durant each had five points to lead in the scoring department for Phoenix, as Booker was held scoreless. As a team, the Suns shot 7-for-17 (41.2%) from the floor and 4-for-11 (36.4%) from 3.

At the end of the period, Phoenix led 23-22 after a runner by Monté Morris gave it the lead with seven seconds left.

Suns go on a big run in the 2nd quarter led by stellar defense

After checking in late in the first quarter, Grayson Allen (eight points in only nine minutes on the night) had five 3-point attempts in his first five minutes. Nurkić and Allen opened up the second quarter scoring for the Suns with consecutive triples. The Suns played excellent defense despite four early turnovers in the quarter, as Allen’s 3-pointer opened up a 14-0 run that spanned nearly five minutes, giving Phoenix a 40-27 advantage with five minutes left in the first half.

The Clippers were able to get a little momentum going after this big run, going on a 6-0 spurt late in the quarter. At the half, Phoenix was up 47-39, as 10 of its 15 made field goals came from deep. The Suns used a balanced attack in the half with no player scoring more than eight points (Beal and Allen). Phoenix shot 15-for-35 (42.9% from 3) from the field in the half and 10-for-23 (43.5%) from 3.

Harden really struggled in the first half for L.A., going 2-for-11 from the floor, 0-for-5 from deep and had four turnovers, but did record a game-high nine rebounds and four assists. Norman Powell was the only player on either team in double figures with 11 points. The Suns held the Clippers to 15-for-43 (34.9%) shooting, 2-for-16 (12.5%) shooting from deep and forced 11 turnovers. Los Angeles did win the rebounding battle 29-19 with nine of those coming on the offensive glass compared to just one for Phoenix.

Harden heats up, Clippers re-take lead

The Clippers started out the third quarter on a 7-2 run, forcing three Phoenix turnovers in the first two minutes of the quarter. This ballooned to a 12-4 run, and the game was suddenly tied at 51 with 7:50 to go in the third quarter. With five minutes left in the quarter, Los Angeles built up a 60-55 lead. as the Suns kept turning the ball over.

The Clippers took a 74-72 lead into the fourth. Beal heated up with nine points in the third, but Harden one-upped him with 16 points in the quarter for Los Angeles. Phoenix started 0-for-5 from 3 in the quarter until Beal finally connected on one with just over 30 seconds to go.

Phoenix had eight turnovers alone in the quarter and could not get Durant (11 points) or Booker (6 points) going at all through the first three quarters.

Suns comeback to send game to overtime

Even without Harden to start the fourth, the Clippers began the quarter on an 8-2 run. The Suns’ stout defense in the first half would not carry over, but their offense kept them in it, responding to most shots L.A. hit with one of their own.

Phoenix went small with 3:52 remaining as O’Neale subbed in for Nurkić next to the rest of the starters. Booker and Durant finally found some rhythm in the fourth. A 3 by Booker followed by a transition layup by Durant cut the Los Angeles lead to 99-95 with 3:14 to go.

The gap was quickly closed to one point, 99-98, with 2:30 left after a turnover by Harden led to a transition layup by Jones.

The Clippers looked really gassed on both sides of the ball, and Phoenix took a 101-99 advantage with 1:39 to go after Durant made an and-one. After a timeout following the basket, Booker fouled out of the game on an off-ball foul. Harden then hit a step-back midrange jumper to tie the game at 101 with 1:14 left.

Allen, who subbed in for Booker, missed a 3 on the next Phoenix possession. Harden gave the Clippers a 103-101 lead after two free throws, and Durant hit a very tough midrange shot to tie the game back at 103 with 21 seconds remaining.

On the last possession of regulation, Harden’s game-winning runner attempt barely rimmed out at the buzzer, sending the game to overtime.

Durant (12) and Booker (9) combined for 21 of the Suns’ 31 points in the fourth.

Suns stabilize to win in overtime

Beal, who was scoreless in the fourth quarter, cashed a huge 3 with 3:44 to go in overtime to go put Phoenix ahead 108-106.

Nurkić, who was in the game to start the entire overtime after missing the end of the fourth, drew a foul on Zubac to foul him out with 2:15 left and made both free throws to make it 112-108 Suns.

With the Suns up 114-112 with four seconds left, Harden drew a foul driving to the basket and made the first free throw, but missed the second. Nurkić grabbed the rebound and was fouled immediately. The big man cooly knocked down both free throws to give Phoenix a 116-113 advantage with three seconds to go.

Allen stole the inbounds pass intended for Harden to give Phoenix an opening day victory.

Next Up

The Suns will stay in Los Angeles and take on the Lakers on Friday night before heading back to Phoenix for their home opener against the Mavericks the next day.

Suns fans indifferent on ‘gutsy’ 116-113 overtime victory over Clippers in season opener

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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau

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