Open Thread: Turnovers and urgency will decide Suns vs. Clippers showdown
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Can Phoenix beat the Clippers for the fourth time this season?
Game 62.
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The Phoenix Suns (28-33) host the Los Angeles Clippers (32-28) on Tuesday, airing on TNT at 8 p.m.
This is the Suns’ final of their four-game homestand. It’s also the third of a four-game Pacific Division series against the Clippers. The Suns won their last matchup in Phoenix, 111-109, on Jan. 27.
The Western Conference’s 11th-place Suns are coming off a 116-98 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday, and have dropped five of their last seven since the All-Star break. The No. 7 Clippers have had similar struggles since the break, losing five of their last six since, including their last two against their crosstown rival L.A. Lakers.
The Suns are led by Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal (left calf injury injury management), who’s been upgraded from questionable to available. The Clippers’ top players are James Harden and Kawhi Leonard.
Check azcentral for live updates of scores, highlights and statistics during the Suns-Clippers game.
Phoenix fell behind on a 65-49 deficit at the break.
Durant (eight points, 2-of-8 FG, four rebounds, three assists) didn’t hit his second field goal, a triple, until 14 seconds left in the half. Bradley Beal is scoreless at 0-for-4. Devin Booker put up six points (2-of-5) and three assists, and the Suns’ starting big Nick Richards had the team-high 10 points with four rebounds.
The Clippers top scorers are their rim protector Ivica Zubac (15 points), Bogdan Bogdanovic (13) and Kawhi Leonard (11).
After the Suns shot a stellar 57.8% in the the first quarter, they regressed to 31.8% in the second. The Suns’ prevalent turnover issues have crept in as they committed eight and gave up 13 points off them through halftime.
The Clippers went on a 7-0 run for a 10-point lead at 4:34. After their big Zubac and Richards traded shots at the rim, James Harden (eight points, seven assists) led the Clippers on a bigger 14-6 run to close the half. They took their largest lead 17 on Harden’s triple at 35 seconds left.
Phoenix ended the first quarter on a 7-2 run capped off by a buzzer-beating trey by Royce O’Neale (six points) to take a 30-24 lead.
Mason Plumlee (six points) scored an alley-oop dunk, passed by Grayson Allen with five seconds left. Then Tyus Jones stole an inbounds pass by Jordan Miller and assisted O’Neale’s shot that brought the crowd to its feet.
The Clippers reached their largest lead of eight points after James Harden-assisted alley-oop to Ivica Zubac at the quarter’s midpoint. The Suns had a brief 4-2 lead, then got back in front at 23-20 from a 8-0 run through 1:31.
The Suns are starting Beal, Booker, Durant, Bol Bol at the four and Nick Richards at center.
The Clippers will open with Harden and Kris Dunn in the backcourt, sharpshooter Bogdan Bogdanovic at the three, Leonard and center Ivica Zubac.
Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said there’s no timetable on Cody Martin’s team debut. He’s been sidelined with a sports hernia for the past month since they acquired him from Charlotte in the Jusuf Nurkic trade. Jalen Bridges and TyTy Washington Jr. are out on G League assignments.
Norman Powell (hamstring), the Clippers’ leading scorer this season, is out. Their other players who’ll be out are Ben Simmons (knee), former Suns forward Derrick Jones Jr. (groin), Trentyn Flowers (G League), Patrick Baldwin Jr. (G League) and Seth Lundy (G League).
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Suns-Clippers live updates: Kawhi Leonard, LA surge entering halftime
Durant, Suns in big hole in 2nd quarter
Suns make late runs to take lead in 1st quarter
Starting lineups
Clippers’ top scorer Powell out
Suns vs. Clippers prediction, odds, line, spread, time: 2025 NBA picks, March 4 best bets from proven model
The Los Angeles Clippers hit the road looking to snap a two-game losing streak when they take on the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday at the Footprint Center. Los Angeles is 32-28 overall and 13-18 on the road, while Phoenix is 28-33 overall and 17-13 at home. The Clippers lost back-to-back games to the Los Angeles Lakers, with the most recent being a 108-102 loss on Sunday. The Suns are also looking to bounce back from a 116-98 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on March 2. Norman Powell (hamstring), Ben Simmons (knee) and Derrick Jones Jr. (groin) are out for Los Angeles, while Bradley Beal (calf) is questionable for Phoenix.
Tipoff in Phoenix is at 10 p.m. ET. The Suns have won each of the last four meetings between the teams, including all three matchups this season. The Clippers are favored by 3 points in the latest Clippers vs. Suns odds via SportsLine consensus, and the over/under is 223 points. Before locking in any Suns vs. Clippers picks, you’ll want to see the NBA predictions and betting advice from the proven computer simulation model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in betting profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past six-plus seasons. The model enters Week 20 of the 2024-25 NBA season on a sizzling 147-107 roll on all top-rated NBA picks dating back to last season, returning nearly $4,000. It’s also an outstanding 18-10 (64%) on top-rated spread picks this season. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.
The model has set its sights on Suns vs. Clippers and just locked in its picks and NBA predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are several NBA betting lines for the game:
The Suns have had a disappointing season, but they are still one of the most explosive offensive teams in the NBA. The Suns average 113.8 points and 14.2 3-pointers per game this season. Phoenix is also 3-0 against the Clippers this season.
Veteran Kevin Durant continues to produce at a high-level for the Suns. The 15-time NBA All-Star is averaging a team-high 26.7 points per game this season, to go with 6.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists. Devin Booker continues to be one of the top shooters in the NBA and enters this matchup averaging 26.0 points, 6.9 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game. See which team to pick here.
The Clippers are in the thick of the Western Conference playoff picture and currently trail the Golden State Warriors by 0.5 game in the race to avoid the Play-In games. The Clippers hold the No. 7 seed in the West entering this matchup. Los Angeles has also performed well against the number this year, going 31-28-1 ATS thus far.
The Clippers will be without leading scorer Norman Powell, but still have plenty of firepower. Veterans James Harden (21.6 points, 8.5 assists, 5.8 rebounds per game) and Kawhi Leonard (17.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game) continue to produce at a high level. Center Ivica Zubac is averaging a double-double at 15.4 points and 12.6 rebounds per game. See which team to pick here.
The model has simulated Suns vs. Clippers 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning Over on the point total, projecting 227 combined points. It’s also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in well over 60% of simulations. You can only see the model’s pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Clippers vs. Suns, and which side of the spread hits well over 60% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Suns vs. Clippers spread you need to jump on, all from the model that has returned well over $10,000 on top-rated NBA picks, and find out.
Here are some of the sportsbooks to bet on NBA games today, along with the various NBA sportsbook promos they currently offer.
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