Devin Booker torches Clippers for 40 as Suns overcome 21-point deficit to win

It was just last week that Cutting machines hosted the Phoenix Suns and just nine days later they played them again at the Intuit Dome.

Before the match, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said there wasn’t much upside to playing a team like the Suns so soon again, especially one with lethal weapons Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. At least they didn’t have to face Bradley Beal, who didn’t play Thursday because of an injured elbow.

It looked like the Clippers had found an advantage as they jumped on the Suns early, building a 19-point lead in the first quarter that grew to 21 in the third.

Read more: The Clippers, who are becoming experts in close games, lose a close game to Portland

However, the Clippers were unable to hold onto the lead and lost 125-119 to the Suns despite five players scoring in double figures.

That’s because Booker torched the Clippers for 40 points to go along with eight assists and five rebounds.

That’s because the Suns dominated the Clippers in the third quarter, shooting 80% (16 for 20) from the field en route to scoring 39 points.

That’s because the Clippers turned the ball over six times in the fourth quarter.

All five of the Clippers’ games have been close, but they are winless in three games at their new home in Inglewood.

“We’ve got to continue to get better. We closed out games better and (it’s) just something to keep learning from,” Lue said. “All five of our games have been close, come down to the wire. We have been lucky to win two of them. … So, just stay the course, understand that our margin for error is very small.

“Every possession matters. … We play hard, we compete, but we have to play smarter and we have to get better.”

James Harden led the Clippers with a triple-double of 25 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds. It was his 78th career triple-double, tying him with Hall of Fame legend and one-time Laker Wilt Chamberlain for seventh-most in NBA history.

Harden surpassed 26,000 career points, becoming one of 20 players in league history to reach the milestone.

But Harden is still trying to be efficient with his game. He was eight for 19 from the field and three for 10 from three point range. He had six turnovers.

“Like, turnovers are going to happen,” Harden said. “I try to, but some of the passes I throw, a lot of them are successful and some of them aren’t. So just trying to find a balance between when to throw and when not to. But the ones that don’t is forced, I have to control them much better.

“But I don’t think it’s necessarily the turnovers that lost the game. We came off the third quarter defensively, they didn’t feel defensively, our presence, and they were just comfortable. They made shots and that got them back in the game. “

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The Suns took over the game in the second half and the Clippers’ defense could not contain them.

The Clippers saw their 70-52 halftime lead dwindle to just two points entering the fourth quarter. It didn’t help the Clippers that Norman Powell (23 points) left for the locker room after he was hit in the face. He returned to the game in the fourth quarter.

Phoenix shot 60.5% from the field in the final 24 minutes, 52.5% from three-point range and scored 73 points.

“Absolutely frustrating, but we can’t do anything about it,” Harden said of the Clippers, who blew a 21-point lead. “We just have to find ways to get better, which I think from last night we had that conversation and then tonight I think we came out with a really good energy, positive start and we got enough talent .

“We just have to, when we get leads, we were told how to get a really good shot and maintain those leads… but it all comes with us, the growing pains.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.