Devin Booker scored a game-high 47 points on 19-27 field goal shooting while also passing for a game-high 10 assists and grabbing eight rebounds to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 136-130 victory versus the L.A. Clippers. Kevin Durant added 31 points, six rebounds, and four assists, while Deandre Ayton had 21 points plus a game-high 11 rebounds. The Suns won this first round series 4-1, and will face the Denver Nuggets--who eliminated the Minnesota Timberwolves, 4-1--in the second round. I will provide in depth analysis of the both the Nuggets and the Suns in my series preview article, so the remainder of this article will focus on the Clippers.
The Clippers were without the services of injured stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, two players who load managed their way through the regular season to preserve themselves for the playoffs only to be unavailable when it mattered the most. L.A. Clippers Coach Tyronn Lue offered this succinct comment during his postgame press conference: "Take the two best players off any team in the league and see if they can win in the playoffs."
Norman Powell led the Clippers with 27 points. Mason Plumlee added 20 points off of the bench, and he tied Ivica Zubac for team-high honors with 10 rebounds. Russell Westbrook paced the Clippers with eight assists and he snared eight rebounds, but he scored just 14 points on 3-18 field goal shooting.
It is difficult to beat a team featuring a trio scoring 99 points on 38-64 field goal shooting (.594), but the shorthanded Clippers never gave up despite trailing by as many as 20 points in the fourth quarter. The Clippers outscored the Suns 36-18 in a little over eight minutes to cut the lead to 130-128 with 2:46 remaining in the contest. The Clippers had several opportunities to tie the score or take the lead, but they just could not get over the hump.
Westbrook was the only Clippers' starter who played all 12 fourth quarter minutes, contributing four assists while committing one turnover; he scored two points on 1-4 field goal shooting, but his energy and passing fueled the comeback. It is easy to nitpick his shooting percentage and his shot selection--and there is no doubt that many commentators will spend a lot of time doing that--but if you watched this game, this series, and this season with understanding then you know that Westbrook is still an excellent player who can make a significant contribution to a winning program. After the game, Coach Lue praised Westbrook for saving the Clippers' season and enabling them to make this playoff run. Paul George has publicly stated that he wants the Clippers to bring Westbrook back next season.
It is not contradictory or illogical to state that the Clippers would have benefited from Westbrook shooting a better field goal percentage while also acknowledging that without Westbrook's other contributions the Clippers would not have been competitive at all in this game, let alone in this series.
Long-time readers who are familiar with my critiques of James Harden's annual playoff collapses may wonder how Westbrook's poor shooting in an elimination game is different than James Harden's playoff "concert tour" shooting percentages. That is easy--Harden's playoff choking is about more than just missing shots (although he misses plenty of shots); he also often plays in a disinterested, detached, and unenergetic manner, which is the exact opposite of how Westbrook plays. There is a big difference between missing shots while playing hard versus missing shots while going through the motions.
Again, it is fair to say that Westbrook should be expected to shoot a better percentage than he did in game five, but Westbrook's shooting must be placed in the overall context of his performance during this series--including the fact that, as Coach Lue stated, the Clippers had no realistic chance to prevail with both of their top two players out of the lineup.
Not too long ago, the L.A. Lakers and their media sycophants tried very hard to destroy Westbrook's reputation and end his career. It is great that he escaped from the Lakers and proved that he can still play at a high level.