Los Angeles, CA — Wednesday night the Los Angeles Clippers and the Phoenix Suns had a not-so-surprising game that resulted in the way most of us thought it would. With over 16,000 fans in attendance, the stacked Clippers pulled through with the 115-99 win.
“I just think its smart to just worry about yourselves and not everybody else,” Head Coach Doc Rivers stated in his postgame interview on being ready each night.
Currently, in first place in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, the Clippers had three starters who pulled in double-doubles. Danilo Gallinari led the way with 28 points and 10 rebounds. Tobias Harris ripped through the court with 18 points and 10 rebounds while Boban Marjanovic managed to get his 12 points and 12 rebounds in only 19 minutes of play. Lou Williams, who is known for scoring, contributed 20 points off the bench. Montrezl Harrell had an aggressive 18 points, and rookie Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 13 points.
For the Suns, they only had two starters in double figures. Devin Booker, who had a tough shooting night, going 9-for-21 from the field, finished with 23 points and T.J. Warren finished with 15 points. Elie Okobo added 19-points while Josh Jackson and Richaun Holmes also reached double-digit scoring off the bench with 15 and 10-points, respectively.
With multiple players contributing offensively, Phoenix couldn’t find an answer for the Clippers. In the third, Los Angeles really pulled away in the third outscoring the Suns 40-25. Yet, scoring wasn’t the only stat the Clippers won as the rebounding war was lopsided, too. The Clippers, who are a top 10 rebounding team, dominated the Suns who are last in the league. Los Angeles outrebounded Phoenix 65-44 with 18 boards being pulled down on the offensive end.
With more aggressive drives, the Clippers also were able to get to the free-throw line a lot more than the Suns. In fact, Los Angeles was 24-for-32 from the charity stripe as compared to Phoenix only scoring 13 points on 18 attempts.
However, despite those two stats, the Suns were successful in turning over the Clippers as they forced 21 turnovers while only committing 17 themselves. Phoenix also outscored Los Angeles in the paint, 50-48.
But, the Suns didn’t have enough and dropped its third straight game and fell to 4-17 on the year. With its 115-99 victory, the Clippers are now 14-6.
Harris echoed the same sentiments as Rivers after the game on not losing focus each night yet, be being ready for whoever they play.
“We’re not looking at team’s records, just looking to improve.”
Los Angeles will now face the Sacramento Kings on Nov. 29 while Phoenix will look to snap its losing streak against Orlando on Friday, Nov. 30.
