Devin Booker scored 21 points with 10 rebounds and nine assists as the Phoenix Suns won for the second time in three days against the Los Angeles Clippers with a 114-103 victory Saturday night at Inglewood, Calif.
Mark Williams scored 19 points, Dillon Brooks added 16 and Grayson Allen had 14 for the Suns, who have won four of their past five games to reach .500 for the second time this season.
Brooks (abdomen) returned after a six-game absence and played 28 minutes.
Ivica Zubac scored 21 points with 15 rebounds and John Collins added 19 points for the Clippers, who lost their fourth consecutive game and fell to 3-3 at home after starting the season 3-0. Bradley Beal scored 12 points for Los Angeles against his former team.
James Harden scored 13 points for the Clippers on 4-of-15 shooting after missing Thursday’s 115-102 loss at Phoenix for personal reasons. The Clippers were without star Kawhi Leonard (ankle) for the third consecutive game.
The Suns led by as many as 18 points in the third quarter before the Clippers went on a 10-0 run to pull within 69-61. Los Angeles cut the deficit to 85-80 at the end of the period by outscoring the Suns 34-25.
The Clippers were back within five at 101-96 with 5:12 remaining after a second consecutive 3-pointer from Nicolas Batum.
A three-point play from Booker gave Phoenix a 109-101 lead with 2:59 remaining. After Harden missed a 3-point attempt for the Clippers, Royce O’Neale put Phoenix up 112-101 with 1:40 left on a 3-pointer. Brooks sealed the victory on a layup with 48 seconds left.
The Clippers led briefly in the first half at 42-41 with 6:07 remaining. The Suns then went on a 19-4 run to head into halftime with a 60-46 lead. Booker had 13 points for Phoenix in the first half, while Zubac had nine for Los Angeles, which went 1 of 14 from 3-point range.
The Suns lost guard Jalen Green to a hamstring injury late in the first quarter after he made his season debut Thursday. Green, who was traded from the Houston Rockets in the offseason, missed the first eight games with the same injury.
–Field Level Media
