The NBA regular season is in the spotlight, with the Clippers and Suns battling it out. The Big Three against the Big Three will naturally collide with a lot of sparks. What makes fans pay more attention is that the Thunder three young men will meet again in the game. The Clippers are currently fourth in the West, while the Suns are in eighth place.
The starting line-ups for both teams are:
Clippers – Harden, Mann, George, Kawhi Kawhi Leonard, Zubac
Suns – Booker, Beal, Allen, Durant, Nurkic
Section 1:
Zubac came up and shined on the inside, first with an easy hook and then with both hands to score as the Clippers took a 4-0 lead. After the opening game, under the guidance of Harden, the Clippers offense played extremely smooth, and in just over 3 minutes, he had already delivered 4 assists.
On the Suns side, Beal was very active after the start, scoring consecutive points on inside and outside shots, and after he steals Harden to complete the counterattack and dunk, the score comes to 12-13.
7 minutes and 35 seconds, enter the timeout time!
After the game, the two sides went back and forth on the offensive end, and the score was always in a stalemate. In the last attack of the first quarter, George faced the defense that Booker had sealed to his face, and still hit a tough three-point shot. At the end of the first quarter, the Clippers led the Suns 34-31.
Section II:
In the first half of the second quarter, it became a competitive time between the eldest brother and the third brother. Harden first used the block to kill the inside line and successfully completed 2+1. He then hit a three-pointer from the left side to help the Clippers take the lead again.
Seeing that the third brother performed well, Durant was naturally not to be outdone. He took one step past Harden, who was about to defend, and then flew to Theis for an easy backhand layup.
Under Durant's leadership, the Suns once built a five-point lead. But the Clippers soon returned the favor, and Powell's three-pointer sounded the clarion call for a counterattack. A wave of 10-2 left the Sun powerless.
At 4 minutes and 24 seconds, the sun chose to take a timeout!(Clippers 56-53 Suns).
In the face of Beal's close defense, George hit a precise three-point shot, and the Clippers' lead came to double digits. But immediately Durant rode a horse and shot arrows, using 2+1 to return the color. However, the Suns' flawed defense still couldn't stop the Clippers' offense.
At halftime, the Clippers were 71-63 and extended their lead to eight points.
The entire first half was Harden's solo show. In the first quarter, he put all his energy into the tandem offense, contributing 5 assists in a single quarterIn the second quarter, the offensive firepower was completely fullA single section contributes 15 points of dataIt was the biggest contributor to the Clippers' opening the score. At the end of the first half, he had already handed it overA superb performance of 15 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists.
Second Half:
Yibian fought again, and the Clippers' offense was still very sharp. The Big Three + Zubac all played steadily, and the Clippers led by 14 points at one point. Although the Sun's touch returned in the second half, it continued to recover the point difference. But their poor defensive performance still made it easy for the Clippers to score. At the end of the third quarter, the Clippers led by 10 points at 101-91.
At the end of the third quarter, there was a famous scene. George took a strong shot against the Big Three's defense, and in the final 02 seconds to draw a foul on Booker. This fieldGeorge also reached a milestone of his own, officially surpassing Grant Hill in scoring and breaking into the top 100 all-time.
At the beginning of the final quarter, the Suns took advantage of the Clippers' connection to once again shorten the margin to single digits. But when the Clippers' main team returned, a wave of 17-5 expanded the difference to 20 points, and the suspense of the game was lost.
In the last 5 minutes, the Suns replaced the main players and announced the surrender of their weapons. In the end, the Clippers defeated the Suns 138-111 at home.
The two stubborn diseases of the sun are really difficult
The Suns have been the league's most up-and-coming team this summer, changing from coach to player almost once. In the end, they cobbled together the Big Three lineup of Durant + Booker + Beal, in order to attack the championship. But now, nearly half a season has passed, and the Suns' problems have become more and more obvious.
Issue.
First, the defense is lax and vulnerable. In today's game against the Clippers, for example, the Suns' defense was untargeted, and the Clippers had plenty of opportunities to shoot and make layups with ease. After all, Booker and Beal are not the kind of players who are good at defense, and it is impossible to expect Durant to be full on the offensive end while still making achievements on the defensive end.
As a result, the Suns' defense is like a loose sand, and the defensive collapse has been staged many times in the past, and it is also the root knot of being often overturned by opponents.
Issue.
Second, the substitute is too weak. Looking at the entire league, the Suns are definitely the most extreme and deformed existence in terms of roster construction. The combination of three top salaries + base salaries makes the connection section of the sun fragile. The only players on the bench who can be called Gordon and Okogie can be called a fighter.
And the bench lineup is also sparse defensively, and there is no player who can be called 3D at all. As a result, every time the transition stage comes, it is basically the stage where the sun is passively beaten.