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The 33-year-old has scored 12 of his 17 shots from the field (4/7 3FG) and set the best new season record with 28 points. Especially early in the second half, he made sure with 16 points that the Clippers returned after a weak first half.
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Barnes was assisted by Blake Griffin (22 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists), DeAndre Jordan (10 points and 17 rebounds) and Darren Collison (18 points, 5 assists). Chris Paul, on the other hand, had a pretty bad night and only got 12 points (4/14 FG) and 5 turnovers, but still gave 9 assists. Danny Granger made a very bland debut and only managed 4 minutes of action.
The Suns, on the other hand, collapsed completely in the third quarter after a strong first half (37:18 for Los Angeles) and failed to recover. The best performances however showed PJ Tucker (18 points and 10 rebounds) and above all the bench players.
They were able to win the duel against the Clippers with 37:12 and were led by Marcus Morris with 12 points (5/9 FG). The good Leandro Barbosa had to leave the game in the interval suspected of a broken hand.
The reactions:
Matt Barnes (LA Clippers): “Blake and Chris will not be able to put it together every night. We are a very deep team and we have shown that lately.”
Goran Dragic (Phoenix Suns): “In the third quarter they played a bit more physical, especially in the defensive phase. We didn’t make open shots. They only played defensively, so that’s what we should have done.”
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The SPOX feature film:
Before you tip:
Without JJ Redick and Jamal Crawford, the Clippers enter the race with Chris Paul, Darren Collison, Matt Barnes, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. Suns coach Jeff Hornacek, on the other hand, has to do without Miles Plumlee. Alex Len, accompanied by Goran Dragic, Gerald Green, PJ Tucker and Channing Frye, is present for the first time in his career in the starting lineup.
5 .: The Suns have now put their 8th consecutive shot in the ring. Things are not going well for one of the best attacking teams in the league – 10: 5 Clippers.
9 .: Things are still not going much better for Phoenix. Not only do they miss their shots, now they also give up Spalding lightly: 5 turnovers and 20:14 for Los Angeles.
12 .: Now the suns are rolling. With a run of 11: 2, Phoenix, led by Marus Morris (6 points, 2/3 FG), re-entered the game and even took the lead – 25:24 Suns.
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18 .: Both teams meanwhile have stabilized around 40%. So far, however, the game hasn’t offered any real highlights. At least it’s balanced and exciting – 34:31 Phoenix.
21 .: Gerald Green finally gets his first three of the game. After the Suns scored another 15 goals from center against Atlanta, the team are at 2/7 today. But Lob City didn’t have a chance either – 37:42 Suns.
24 .: At the end of the first half, Phoenix starts another race and extends the lead to 11 points. Shortly before the end, Chris Paul dismisses a relatively open trio. Significant for his performance today: only 7 points 3/9 from the field and 4 turnovers – 55:44 Suns.
29 .: Matt Barnes is on fire! The 33-year-old already has 16 points, only in the second half! He now he has a total of 26 points (high of the season) and alone brings the Clippers back – only 66:64 Suns!
34 .: Now we see more fouls on both sides, the game gets tougher and more physical. This is an advantage for the Clippers, who have already scored 29 points and suffered only 14 in the third quarter – 72:69 Clippers.
39 .: The Clippers scored 75 percent in the second half from the field! Willie Green doesn’t want to be the exception and sinks the trio wide open. The Clippers are slowly moving away from the Suns – 88:75.
42 .: Nothing has been decided here yet! The Suns start an 11-0 run, this time led by the other Morris, Markieff. Clippers 15-point lead melts and melts – 90:86 Los Angeles.
46 .: Gerald Green warms up at the right time. But after two or three in a row he is lucky: Spalding jumps back and forth in the ring three times before slipping into the trap. But on the other hand, Griffin once again provides a 5 point lead – 99:94 Clippers.
48 .: The Suns failed to close the lead and the Clippers easily took the game home from the free throw line. It is not even a matter of course. The Clippers win 104-96.
Phoenix Suns vs Los Angeles Clippers: click here for the BOXSCORE
The star of the game: Matt Barnes. The 33-year-old came out of the locker room very hot and, with his 16 points immediately after half-time, almost single-handedly brought the Clippers advantage. In the end it was 28 points, 6 rebounds with fabulous shooting rates in the area. Barnes scored 12 of his 17 shots and made 4 of his 7 three. Very strong performance!
The flop of the game: Glen Davis. Not a few pundits suspected Glen Davis would have a huge impact on the Clippers team. He only had it against the Suns on the foul stats. The 28-year-old was able to show a total of 4 fouls in just 9 minutes of play. No points, only 1 rebound, 1 assist, but 2 turnovers. After all: no one complains as well as Big Baby!
This stood out:
After a weak start, it was the Suns bench who brought the hosts back on the pitch. Led by Marcus Morris (10 points, 4/6 FG), Phoenix won the duel between the bench players 20: 3 after the first half. The plus-minus values of the actors were particularly impressive. Morris stood out at +19 in the interval, as did Leandro Barbosa (+12). At the Clippers, Glen Davis was -12 and Willie Green was -10.
NBA Champions of the Last 25 Years: The Beginning of a New Era?-
1/26
1992: Chicago Bulls (4-2 v Portland Trail Blazers). Finals MVP: Michael Jordan
26/2
1993: Chicago Bulls (4-2 v Phoenix Suns). Finals MVP: Michael Jordan
26/3
1994: Houston Rockets (4-3 win over the New York Knicks). Finals MVP: Hakeem
26/4
1995: Houston Rockets (4-0 v Orlando Magic). Finals MVP: Hakeem
26/5
1996: Chicago Bulls (4-2 win over the Seattle Supersonics). Finals MVP: Michael Jordan
26/6
1997: Chicago Bulls (4-2 v Utah Jazz). Finals MVP: Michael Jordan
7/26
1998: Chicago Bulls (4-2 v Utah Jazz). Finals MVP: Michael Jordan
26/8
1999: San Antonio Spurs (4-1 v New York Knicks). Finals MVP: Tim Duncan
26/9
2000: LA Lakers (4-2 between the Indiana Pacers). Finals MVP: Shaquille O’Neal
26/10
2001: LA Lakers (4-1 against the Philadelphia 76ers). Finals MVP: Shaquille O’Neal
26/11
2002: LA Lakers (4-0 v New Jersey Nets). Finals MVP: Shaquille O’Neal
26/12
2003: San Antonio Spurs (4-2 v New Jersey Nets). Finals MVP: Tim Duncan
26/13
2004: Detroit Pistons (4-1 at Los Angeles Lakers). Finals MVP: Chauncey Billups
14/26
2005: San Antonio Spurs (4-3 v Detroit Pistons). Finals MVP: Tim Duncan
15/26
2006: Miami Heat (4-2 against the Dallas Mavericks). Finals MVP: Dwyane Wade
16/26
2007: San Antonio Spurs (4-0 v Cleveland Cavaliers). Finals MVP: Tony Parker
17/26
2008: Boston Celtics (4-2 at Los Angeles Lakers). Finals MVP: Paul Pierce
18/26
2009: LA Lakers (4-1 against Orlando Magic). Finals MVP: Kobe Bryant
19/26
2010: LA Lakers (4-3 by the Boston Celtics). Finals MVP: Kobe Bryant
20/26
2011: Dallas Mavericks (4-2 against the Miami Heat). Finals MVP: Dirk Nowitzki
21/26
2012: Miami Heat (4-1 v Oklahoma City Thunder). Finals MVP: LeBron James
22/26
2013: Miami Heat (4-1 v Oklahoma City Thunder). Finals MVP: LeBron James
23/26
2014: San Antonio Spurs (4-1 v Miami Heat). Finals-MVP: Kawhi Leonard
24/26
2015: Golden State Warriors (4-2 v Cleveland Cavaliers). Finals MVP: Andre Igoudala
25/26
2016: Cleveland Cavaliers (4-3 times Golden State Warriors). Finals MVP: LeBron James
26/26
2017: Golden State Warriors (4-1 v Cleveland Cavaliers). Finals-MVP: Kevin Durant
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Alex Len would probably have imagined his first appearance on the Starting Five a little differently. While things started off pretty well for the 20-year-old with an offensive rebound and subsequent points, even the layups didn’t want to sit properly after that (a total of 3/8 FG). Also, the Spalding often got out of hand or he couldn’t get it right. So he made a rather unfortunate figure at times, but at least he showed good effort.
Dedication is a good keyword. Even though the shot didn’t crash at first (maybe that’s why), the Suns fought for every ball and sprinted up and down the pitch. Phoenix also knew how to convince on the scoreboard and scored 16 offensive rebounds. This led to a 15-second chance point after the first 24 minutes – the Clippers only had 6.
Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan were behind at half-time with just 13 points and just 5 of 13 off the pitch thanks to the good defense of the Suns. The Big Men of Phoenix did not allow the Clippers’ power plants to push them around the area and made life extremely difficult for the two. Griffin then rarely shot aggressively towards the basket, but rather tried his jumper, but mostly without success.
In the second part of the game, however, the Clippers really raised the temperature. Meanwhile, they had scored 75 percent of their shots from the field and Griffin also scored again (7/11 FG in 2nd half) And all of that, even though Chris Paul didn’t have a good night. The elite point guard only scored 12 points at low odds (4/12 FG) and lost spalding 5 times. After all, he distributed 9 assists, but he can thank his colleagues for the victory.
Results and program at a glance
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