The Suns got exactly the kind of night they needed Tuesday: a fast start, a massive bench surge, and a comfortable 133-110 win over the Clippers that pushed Phoenix to 4-6.
This one belonged to the second unit almost from the jump. Phoenix’s reserves piled up 81 points, the Suns knocked down 22 threes to Los Angeles’ 15, and the home team led for 44 of the 48 minutes. Seven Suns finished in double figures, and the game was effectively out of reach long before the final horn.
Jordan Goodwin set the tone off the bench with 18 points in under 14 minutes, hitting 6-of-7 from the floor and all six of his three-point attempts. Devin Booker added 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting and handed out five assists. Luke Kennard scored 14 on 5-of-7 shooting, while Jalen Green chipped in 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-4 from deep, along with five rebounds.
Collin Gillespie added 12 points, all on threes, and finished with a game-high eight assists. Man Man posted 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting, plus seven rebounds and three assists. Ryan Dunn contributed 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting and eight rebounds, and Oso Ighodaro grabbed eight boards while finishing plus-18.
Los Angeles got 13 points apiece from Darius Garland, Rui Hachimura and Baba Miller. Garland shot 5-of-12 and had six assists, while Hachimura went 4-of-10 with three made threes and five rebounds.
Miller’s 13 all came in the fourth quarter on 4-of-4 shooting. Max Strus scored 12, and Derrick Jones Jr. and Keaton Wagler each finished with 11.
Phoenix opened the game with a 6-2 lead behind four early points from Booker, but the first quarter quickly turned into a bench takeover. The Clippers briefly moved ahead 18-16 after Hachimura scored eight points and buried two threes, then the Suns slammed the door with a 13-0 run to close the period. Gillespie hit two triples, Dunn finished at the rim, and Goodwin added another three.
That stretch flipped the game. Phoenix’s reserves outscored LA’s bench 13-0 in the quarter, while the Clippers’ second unit went 0-for-4 from the field.
Man Man didn’t take a shot in the opening frame, but he still collected three rebounds and three assists in fewer than five minutes. The Suns also controlled the glass 17-8 and the paint 12-4.
Booker led all scorers with eight points in the quarter, though he also had three turnovers. Phoenix led 29-18 after one.
Goodwin then took over the second quarter like it was a solo workout. He drilled all four of his three-point attempts for 12 points in just over six minutes, and Kennard added two more triples off the bench. Phoenix shot 8-of-14 from deep in the period.
The Clippers found more rhythm in the second, shooting 50 percent and getting scoring from eight different players. Isaiah Jackson and Max Strus helped their second unit avoid another scoreless stretch, but Phoenix still stretched the margin to 17 at 48-31, the biggest lead of the half.
Booker went 0-for-4 from the field in the quarter and scored only once from the line, while Dunn did not return after his strong first quarter. Gillespie capped the half with a deep three at the buzzer as Phoenix went into the break up 64-47.
The Suns came out firing again in the third. Miles Bridges, after being held scoreless in the first half, finally got rolling with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting, including two threes.
Booker played the entire quarter and found his touch, scoring eight points while hitting 2-of-4 from deep. Phoenix buried seven threes in the frame, while Los Angeles managed just four makes on 15 attempts from long range.
The Suns also did real damage on the offensive glass, turning second chances into 16 points in the quarter compared to seven for the Clippers. The lead ballooned to 32 at 91-59. Man Man added seven points on perfect shooting from the field and the line, and after three quarters Phoenix was in front 99-72.
With the game already decided, both teams emptied the bench in the fourth. No Suns starter played in the final period, and Phoenix finished with an all-reserve group.
Kennard led the way with eight points in the quarter, while Jamaree Bouyea made all five of his shots and finished with seven points and three assists. Koa Peat added five points, and Rasheer Fleming knocked down his lone three.
The Suns shot 12-of-16 in the quarter.
Baba Miller carried the Clippers’ late scoring with 13 points in the fourth, hitting all four of his field-goal attempts and going 4-of-6 at the line. Los Angeles took the final period 38-34, helped by six Phoenix turnovers, but the outcome had long since been settled.
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