New on Sports Illustrated: Suns Hold Off Clippers' Comeback, Take 3-1 Series Lead

-

The Suns staved off a second-half Clippers rally to move just one win away from a trip to the NBA Finals.

View the
original article to see embedded media.

All postseason long, the Clippers have thrived when playing from behind the eight ball. Faced with a double-digit second-half deficit on Saturday night, it seemed Game 4 would follow a similar script.

Then the Suns put the clamps on the defensive end.

The Suns held off a ferocious Clippers comeback attempt to win, 84-80, and take a 3-1 series lead to put themselves one win away from the NBA Finals.

The Clippers were held to just 14 points in the fourth quarter, as Phoenix maintained its tight guarding on the perimeter. The Clippers shot 5-for-31 on three-point attempts.

After an off night in Game 3, Suns guard Devin Booker bounced back to lead the team with 25 points on 8-for-2 shooting. He played most of the night in foul trouble and didn't make a three-pointer, but shot 9-for-11 from the free throw line before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.

Suns center Deandre Ayton had 19 points, 22 rebounds and four blocked shots. Chris Paul shot 6-for-22 from the field but had a team-high seven assists with 18 points.

The Clippers never held a lead for the entire game and trailed by as many as 16 points in the second half before mounting a comeback in the third quarter. Los Angeles pulled within one point early in the fourth before the offensive flow of the game skidded to a halt, with neither team scoring for nearly four minutes of game time. The two teams combined for 29 points in the fourth quarter.

The Suns will look close out the series in Game 5 at home on Monday to make the franchise's third NBA Finals appearance.

More NBA Coverage:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New on Sports Illustrated: NBA Draft Big Board 3.0: Top 80 Prospect Rankings

-
Image
Ranking the top 80 players in the 2021 NBA draft with the NCAA tournament in the rearview. View the original article to see embedded media. With three months until draft night and the NBA’s regular season winding down , the league at large has begun shifting full focus to the off-season. Players have until May 30 to declare as early entrants for the draft, after which point the predraft process will open up in full, leading up to the combine and lottery at the end of June . Our Big Board is long overdue for an update, and fully expanded out to 80 prospects as we all attempt to make sense of the big picture moving forward. As usual, the Big Board is primarily based on my personal evaluations from both live viewings and on film, in many cases dating back several years. The rankings also incorporate feedback and opinions I glean from NBA executives, scouts, and others around the industry. This is not a mock draft, and team fit is not considered, but it is also intended to be somewhat
Read more

New on Sports Illustrated: The Patriots’ Post-Brady Era Begins Now

-
Image
In Mac Jones, Bill Belichick drafted a Round 1 quarterback for the first time ever—and looks to usher in a return to dominance. Of course the first time Bill Belichick drafts a first-round quarterback, it’s one for whom he could get an unvarnished scouting report from good buddy Nick Saban —and without even having to do any draft-day maneuvering. Now, the post-Tom Brady era in New England really begins. The Patriots treated 2020 as something of a gap year, with a league-high eight opt-outs due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a starting quarterback, Cam Newton, who didn't sign with the team until June. They were, for the first time in two decades, mediocre, but that 7–9 record bought them the ticket to a fresh start: the No. 15 pick, which they used Thursday night on Alabama QB Mac Jones. The oft-cited statistic that Belichick had never drafted a QB higher than pick No. 62—used on Jimmy Garoppolo in 2014—was inherently flawed, given that Belichick had Brady as a starter for 19 of
Read more

New on Sports Illustrated: NCAA Board of Governors Unanimously Votes to Extend Mark Emmert’s Contract

-
Despite recent controversy, the NCAA Board of Governors voted unanimously to extend Mark Emmert's contract through 2025. The NCAA Board of Governors unanimously voted to extend president Mark Emmert's contract through Dec. 31, 2025. The news was announced Tuesday as a one-line news item buried within a larger update after the board's quarterly meeting. He's the fifth president in NCAA history and has been in the role since 2010. Emmert previously held high-ranking roles at Washington, LSU, Connecticut and Montana State. His base salary is reportedly $2.7 million.  Within the announcement, the Board reaffirmed its commitment to updating name, image and likeness rules. Dellenger: Inside the Hidden Industry of Name, Image and Likeness and the Changing World for College Athletes Emmert came under fire after disparities were shown between the men's and women's college basketball tournaments this year, specifically the weight room. Prior to the public backlash,
Read more