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Suns defy growing pains, win old habits for OT

The rebuilding process will always be unforgiving in basketball, even in an offseason full of promising changes, and that was the lesson (if one was needed) from the Phoenix Suns' 116-113 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Phoenix's offense in the first half was hit or miss, but they made 10 of their 23 3-point shots and played solid defense that was enough to lead by 14 points at one point. But the offense stalled again, scoring six points on a 7-point score. The :17 mark at the end of the second quarter and beginning of the third quarter tied the game during a 20-6 Clippers run. There were a lot of turnovers on a night where Phoenix had 22 turnovers. The unforced errors, a huge problem area for last year's team, were a cheap jump-scare tactic straight out of a C-grade horror movie.

Despite all the layers to this game, they don't matter much when Devin Booker and Kevin Durant are drastically underperforming. They combined for six field goals, four assists and eight turnovers in three quarters. Durant used the brute force method to drop some shots in the fourth quarter, while Booker never got there before fouling out with 1:27 left in the fourth quarter.

This caused the game to become strange and out of the Suns' control against a very ineffective Clippers team offensively. The crucial part of the fourth quarter essentially consisted of Durant and James Harden exchanging possessions in isolation, which, to put it mildly, produced mixed results. Both were unable to get good looks and turn over in batches at the same time.

However, Durant sank a very good shot with an insane degree of difficulty to equalize with 21 seconds left.

Harden couldn't convert his counterattack into overtime as the Suns executed Only a little more to win it. Bradley Beal was great all night, and oddly enough, when Harden protected him in OT by feeding Beal, Phoenix did the right thing and he scored nine of his 24 points in overtime.

Phoenix led by two with 75 seconds left before once again getting stuck in a whirlwind of targeting mismatches and 1-on-1 isolation for Beal or Durant instead of going on offense. There will clearly be another tug of war to achieve this, at least initially. Even with point guards and a new coach.

After a Beal turnover and a Durant miss, Harden had two free throws with five seconds left to tie the game, but missed the second. Jusuf Nurkic made both attempts to give Phoenix the lead with three seconds left, and LA's ATO led to Harden dropping the inbounds pass to seal the victory.

Durant finished with 25 points (8 of 17), seven rebounds, zero assists, three steals, one block and seven turnovers. Booker attempted just nine shots in 32 minutes and scored five for 15 points with six assists and four turnovers.

Beal and backup point guard Monte Morris brought the Suns to life in both halves. The former teammates in Washington used that predetermined chemistry to greatly help the Suns. Reserve lineups with a combination of these two, Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neale and the rookie duo of Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro, did an excellent job of shifting defensive intensity and rebounding.

Head coach Mike Budenholzer used 11 players deep in his rotation. Nurkic (8:49), Mason Plumlee (8:40) and Ighodaro (7:28) all played in the first half, with Ighodaro spending some of that time at the 4. Allen was the last player in the game as Phoenix will slowly get him back on his feet after Achilles tendon pain forced him to miss the final four preseason games. Budenholzer must have played over a dozen lineup combinations. He wasn't afraid to immediately replace one or two people if things became temporarily stagnant.

Harden has largely been a mess for a Clippers team that has had to over-rely on him without Kawhi Leonard (right knee recovery). His final tally of 29 points on 10 of 28 shooting with 12 rebounds, eight assists and eight turnovers says it all.

The Suns made just 15 3s in the final three quarters, following the aforementioned extremely promising 23 in the first half. The ball movement was fine Overall, but particularly disappointing in the halfcourt offense, where the continuity built over the next few months will be of great benefit. Things looked better when starting point guard Tyus Jones started the possessions. He was good in this game and had 11 points, eight assists, two steals, one block and of course zero turnovers.

Due to turnovers and an inconsistent gang rebounding approach, the Clippers were forced to take 14 more shots. They had 13 offensive rebounds compared to the Suns' four.

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