The Phoenix Suns played the first night of their first back-to-back of the season against the Los Angeles Clippers, and it wasn’t what you’d call “pretty”, losing 129-102. This one didn’t come close to matching
the energy of opening night. After building a nine-point lead in the first quarter, the Suns were outscored 115–79 the rest of the way.
They finished the game shooting 41.1% from the field. For perspective, they shot worse than that only seven times all of last season.
Dillon Brooks led the Suns with 21 points, while Devin Booker finished with 18 on only ten shot attempts. Brooks, Royce O’Neale, Grayson Allen, and Collin Gillespie all took more shots than Booker, which says plenty about how off-balance the offense was.
Defense will be the deciding factor for this team, but against a group with the Clippers’ firepower, that test can get ugly fast. The Suns lost the battle in the paint 52–34 and were outrebounded 43–37. James Harden torched them again, putting up 30 points in 28 minutes on 8-of-11 shooting and 5-of-6 from deep, with seven assists and seven boards. Kawhi Leonard added 27.
The Suns drop to 1–1 on the season and 0–1 in Pacific Division play. The Clippers move to 1–1 as well.
Game Flow
First Half
The Suns came out buzzing again, sticking to their plan of going straight to the rim. That kind of pressure is their calling card right now. When they stay committed to it, the three-point looks start to flow, and Phoenix was 5-0f-11 from deep in the first period.
The Clippers made their move early with a 10-2 run, but the Suns didn’t flinch. They stayed locked in and punched back with an 8-0 stretch. Ryan Dunn kept the energy alive, finishing strong at the rim and picking up four quick points.
Dillon Brooks, who led the Suns in shot attempts during their win over Sacramento, was back at it again. He scored 10 of the team’s first 21 points and did it in full Dillon Brooks fashion: talking, pressing, and making life miserable for Kawhi Leonard and James Harden. The offense looked sharp early, full of movement, pressure, and unselfish play, highlighted by a 12-0 run midway through the quarter.
The Suns’ aggression came with a cost. They racked up eight fouls in the quarter, and the Clippers took full advantage, hitting all ten of their free throws. The Suns went two for three from the line.
Kris Dunn gave the Clippers a boost off the bench, scoring four points and picking up two steals. James Harden led all scorers with 14 on perfect shooting, including two from deep. Booker had 6, Brooks added 10, and Oso Ighodaro chipped in 5. Both teams shot better than 55% from the field.
After one, it was Clippers 34, Suns 33.
The Suns opened the second quarter out of rhythm, scrambling on both ends and giving up a 8-0 run to the Clippers. Even after the timeout, Los Angeles kept it rolling into a 12-0 run to start Q2.
The lineup of Colin Gillespie, Dillon Brooks, Royce O’Neale, Grayson Allen, and Nick Richards couldn’t find much flow. The ball stopped moving, the spacing collapsed, and the offense stalled. Before long, the Suns were staring at a 13-point hole.
The second quarter turned into a three-point shootout. Both teams started launching from deep, and it felt like whoever blinked first would fall behind. Phoenix went 5-for-15 from beyond the arc in the quarter, while the Clippers hit 7-of-12. So it was the Suns who fell behind.
James Harden caught fire, drilling three of his four attempts from deep and lighting up the Suns’ defense.
By halftime, the Clippers were 11-for-19 from three (57.9%) while Phoenix sat at 10-for-27 (37%).
Harden poured in 26 points before the break, and Dillon Brooks led the Suns with 15. Booker had 8 on 2-of-5 shooting. Phoenix did the dirty work on the glass, grabbing 11 offensive rebounds, but they only turned those into 8 second-chance points. The turnover battle was close, but the Clippers made more of theirs, turning them into 5 extra points.
At the half, the Suns trailed 72-56.
Second Half
After giving up 34 points in the first quarter and 38 in the second, the Suns opened the third by letting the Clippers rip off a 10-0 run. Phoenix didn’t score until Devin Booker hit a free throw with 8:16 left in the quarter. It was a mix of problems that led them there. The shooting struggles kept piling up, the turnovers mounted, and the Clippers kept finding easy looks inside.
Every time Booker touched the ball, two defenders closed in. The Clippers might not have a reputation as a lockdown defense, but that kind of constant pressure throws everything off. Even with the extra attention, Booker has to find ways to be more effective if the Suns plan on winning games like this.
Midway through the third quarter, Devin Booker had all six of Phoenix’s points.
As the quarter wore on, only Booker and Dillon Brooks could find the bottom of the net. The rest of the offense went quiet. The movement stopped, the cutting vanished, and the flow disappeared completely. By the end of the quarter, the Suns had been outscored 34-21. They shot 30% from the field and went 3-for-12 from deep, while the Clippers hit 68.8% of their shots.
Los Angeles dominated the glass 13-7 and stretched the lead to as much as 32. Kawhi Leonard dropped 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting in the period, and after three quarters, it was all Clippers, 106-77.
The Suns still brought some edge to start the fourth, trying to stay active and disruptive, but when Colin Gillespie and Nigel Hayes-Davis are the ones tasked with guarding Kawhi Leonard and John Collins, the matchup tends to swing the other way.
With 8:33 left in the quarter, Phoenix fans got a small bright spot: the debut of Rasheer Fleming, the team’s 31st overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
On his first possession, Rasheer Fleming went to work, taking a turnaround 12-footer that rimmed out. He didn’t wait long to make an impact, though, picking up his first career assist on the next trip down by finding Colin Gillespie in the corner for a three.
Nigel Hayes-Davis had a nice stretch midway through the fourth, scoring five straight points and giving the Suns a bit of life. And with 4:46 left in the game, Khaman Maluach, the Suns’ 10th overall pick in the 2025 draft, checked in for his debut.
Maluach didn’t make much of a mark in his debut. His first points came at the free-throw line, giving the Suns their 100th point of the night. By then, they were already down by 27.
The rest of the game was cleanup duty. The Clippers coasted to the finish, handing the Suns a comfortable loss.
Up Next
The Suns are right back at it tomorrow night, traveling to the Mile High City to play the Denver Nuggets tomorrow night.
