Russell Westbrook and the Los Angeles Clippers had the last laugh in Game 1 of their first-round series against Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns. The Clippers stole a 115-110 win in the series opener on the road, and in the process, effectively snapped an exception playoff streak by Phoenix.
Via ESPN Stats & Info:
“This is the Suns’ first Game 1 playoff loss in the last three postseasons with the Booker-Paul-Ayton core. Phoenix had gone 6-0 in Game 1’s the last two postseasons, twice as many Game 1 wins as any other team had in that time.”
Russell Westbrook turned a salty shooting night into a memorable one with his exceptional defensive play in the clutch. The Clippers guard shot just 3-for-19 from the field and only 1-for-6 from behind the arc, but no one’s focusing on that as much as the block he had on Devin Booker and the save he made right after that during the final seconds of the contest.
While Westbrook struggled with his shooting, Kawhi Leonard did most of the damage on the Suns on offense with a brilliant performance. Leonard finished with a game-high 38 points on 13-for-24 shooting with five rebounds and five assists in 42 minutes. Durant was not too shabby with his 27 points, though, it took him some time to get into rhythm.
The series is still very young, and the Suns can answer right back with a win in Game 2 at home. The pressure is clearly on them, however, as they can’t allow Russell Westbrook and the Clippers go up 2-0 in the series before the matchup heads to Hollywood for Games 3 and 4.
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