

"It's just that it hit different because it's playoffs."
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"That's Devin, that's Devin," said Suns big Deandre Ayton, who posted a fourth straight double-double in this series with 21 points and 11 rebounds. He’s quick and dribbles around, it’s just tough for us."Īfter his first 3 bounced around the rim and in, Booker held the pose on the second one that was cash. We tried to fire and we couldn’t get our fires. We tried blitz, we couldn’t get him blitzes. "Booker was tough all series,' said Lue as Booker averaged 37.2 points on 60.2% shooting (46.7% from 3) in this series. With the game tied at 86-86 in the third, Booker hit a jumper and back-to-back 3s for a personal 8-0 burst to break the tie and force Clippers' coach Ty Lue to call a timeout with 3:44 left in the third.

”īefore that wacky finish, Booker put on a show in the third. In the fourth quarter we got stops when we needed to. We opened up a lot of stuff there in the second half. "Denying me out, not leaving my body when I am spacing out. "They was playing the exact same way they were playing the whole series," Durant said. "We knew it was going to be like that in a close out game and to be able to make enough plays down the stretch," Suns coach Monty Williams said.ĭurant finished with 31 points with only six in the fourth as he took just two shots in the quarter, making both.

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Then the Clippers came out of the timeout and Terance Mann was unable to handle a pass from Westbrook in the corner for a look at a 3.ĭurant wound up drawing a foul on Powell and hit two free throws to make the final difference six with 31.3 seconds remaining. So I kind of knew where he was trying to go to." "I've been guarding him all series so I kind of know his tendencies, what move he's trying to do and he got to the free throw line two times before that. "I had great body position," Okogie said. Then after the Suns turned the ball over, Josh Okogie forced a turnover on Norman Powell, Chris Paul retrieved the ball and found Durant for a transition layup to give Phoenix a 134-130 lead with 58.8 seconds. Nicolas Batum had a chance to give the Clippers the lead, but missed a 3 with 1:18 left. Keep playing all the way until the whistle blows." "I think it's a good lesson for us moving forward," Booker said. The Suns appeared to be heading to a comfortable closeout win, especially after Booker’s explosive third, but the Clippers cut a 20-point Suns lead early in the fourth down to two twice within the last two minutes that had a sellout crowd of 17,071 at Footprint Center standing in near silence. View Gallery: Photos: Suns-Clippers Game 5, April 25, 2023 This is what everything is for so when you get going like that, you just want to play."ĭenver won Game 5 over Minnesota, 112-109, as Anthony Edwards missed a 3 at the buzzer. Some of the shots he was making, but when you're in the playoffs, this is what you train for. "I was out at the end of the third and I was like, man, that's tough. "It damn sure looked like it," Suns point guard Chris Paul about Booker outscoring the Clippers in the third. Outscoring the Clippers by himself in the third, 25-24, Booker had a stretch in which he scored 14 of Phoenix’s 25 points in the final 4:34 of the quarter. The fourth-seeded Suns will begin their conference semifinals series Saturday at Denver against the Nuggets, the No. His impact and his presence just means a lot to us, that was incredible to see and be a part of.” We feed off his aggression – not just on the team – Suns fans watching on TV, Suns fans in the arena. “It was spiritual." said Kevin Durant about Booker's 25-point quarter "I don’t scream too much in the games no more as I got older, but when he hit that three at the top of the key, I felt the energy. Kevin Durant’s bottom was a little sore after taking a hard fall on a foul by Russell Westbrook.īooker continued to cook the Clippers in going for 47 points to tie a playoff career-high with 25 coming in the third quarter of Phoenix’s 136-130 Game 5 closeout victory Tuesday, to take the Western Conference first-round series, 4-1. Watch Video: Phoenix Suns move forward in Western Conference semifinals to take on Denver
