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Harris’ 33 Help Clippers Close Out Suns In OT

After back to back losses the LA Clippers came into Phoenix Monday night to turn their recent string of poor performances around against the Suns.

Sitting at dead last in the Western Conference, the Suns we’re without star guard Devin Booker due to a hamstring injury. The absence of Booker didn’t seem to hurt their chances.

It was clear early on this was going to be a sloppy game for LA as they wound up trailing by 8 and only scoring 21 points on Phoenix in the opening quarter. The second quarter saw the Clippers gain some ground however. Led by Lou Williams, Mike Scott and the bench, LA was able to go on a 14-4 run and gain the lead. Williams would injure his hamstring going in for a layup in the quarter and wouldn’t return, ending his night with 7 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Scott had a critical 5 points during that second quarter run but wouldn’t be able to contribute much morning, finishing up with just the 5 points.

Things cooled off for LA before the half as Phoenix cut the lead to just 2 heading into the break.

From the start of the second half, Tobias Harris looked ready to make an impact. Harris caught fire from the field after a rough start to the game. He grew more aggressive, driving to the rim and got to the free throw line more often knocking shots when he got there going 9-9 on the night. Harris managed 33 points, 8 rebounds and a surprising 2 blocks.

The Suns looked inspired throughout the night and had many from their young roster, including rookie Center DeAndre Ayton whom struggled in his last matchup with Boban Marjanovic and the Clippers. Ayton closed out this one with a double-double, notching 20 points and 12 rebounds.

The Suns defense created problems for the Clippers all night long, snatching 14 steals and swatting away 8 shots.

Despite their struggles, LA was able to hang around all game long and in the fourth they were able to keep it close enough to allow their stars to bring it back. Danillo Gallinari and Harris helped the Clippers crawl back and tie the game up with just minutes to go. While those two helped the Clippers get back, it was rookie Shai Gilgeous-Alexander that put them over the top.

Gilgeous-Alexander has impressed all season long, but the poise shown by the 20 year-old in the waning minutes of this contest was another sign of his rising stardom. He finished the game with 16 points, 5 assists and one very impressive block.

It took Overtime but the Clippers were able to escape Talking Stick Resort Arena with a much needed 123-119 victory.

LA won’t have much time to enjoy this win though as they take on the Eastern Conference leading Toronto Raptors tomorrow night on NBATV.

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