The Los Angeles Clippers’ opening game ended in heartbreak as the Phoenix Suns rode an 11-0 run late in the fourth quarter to come back, send the game to overtime and hand the Clippers a loss in their Intuit Dome debut.
Kevin Durant led the charge for Phoenix, scoring 25 points and hitting a number of clutch fourth-quarter buckets before nailing a game-tying fadeaway jumper to send the game to overtime. Suns guard Bradley Beal contributed 24 points while going 66% from the field.
Clippers point guard James Harden and center Ivica Zubac were the stars for LA, as Harden contributed a near 30-point triple-double while Zubac poured in 21 points of his own shooting 8-for-13 from the field.
Shooting guard Amir Coffey also brought a much-needed spark off the bench as Norman Powell and Kevin Porter Jr. had off nights. All of Coffey’s 11 points came in the fourth quarter, in which he shot a perfect 4-for-4 including a theatrical three mid-way through to extend the Clippers’ lead to 10 points—their largest of the night.
Despite Harden’s lackluster 36% shooting percentage looking inefficient on paper, Harden was pivotal for the Clippers in the latter part of the game, scoring 25 of his 29 points after halftime. Harden put on a vintage performance, using his handle and size to attack the basket and draw fouls as opposed to just acting as a facilitator and settling for contested step-back jumpers. He stepped into his role as the Clippers’ primary scorer well, playing with an aggression that hasn’t been expected of him since his days with the Houston Rockets.
Last night’s game was certainly a difficult pill to swallow for Los Angeles, but that doesn’t mean the loss didn’t come without its silver linings. The Clippers missed and will continue to miss Kawhi Leonard indefinitely, but the Clippers showed lots of promise without their No. 1.
They struggled offensively in the first half when Harden couldn’t get into any sort of rhythm, and closed out the second quarter with an underwhelming 39 points. Once Harden got going, though, other Clippers followed suit. Harden will continue to have to shoulder a majority of the offensive load amidst Leonard’s absence. If the Clippers want to win games early in the season, Harden will have to play like he did in the second half more often.
The energy around this team also appears to be greater than before, which is only increased with the new arena. Part of the reason for building the Intuit Dome was so that the Clippers could create an identity independent from the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Clippers’ new sense of independence seemed to generate electricity that wasn’t there when the Clippers shared an arena with the NBA’s most popular team.
“The Wall,” a new seating style exclusive to Intuit Dome, has already gone viral on social media for how intimidating it looked to Suns players shooting free throws. Suns veteran superstar Kevin Durant admitted last night that “The Wall” even rattled him, a future first-ballot Hall of Famer in his 18th year in the NBA.
“I was just staring at it the whole time. You’re not used to that.” Durant said in an interview with ESPN.
The Clippers are going to have to continue to feed off the energy their fans are giving them if they want a shot at the playoffs.
The Clippers’ next game is on the road against the Denver Nuggets on October 26.