Phoenix Suns Burn LA Clippers' Game 2 Hopes With Game-Winning Alley-Oop
The game-winning Deandre Ayton alley-oop pass jam with 0.7 seconds left gave the Phoenix Suns a thrilling 104-103 Game 2 win over the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday night, June 22.
The Phoenix Suns took a commanding 2-0 lead in the West Finals series after defeating the Clippers with only a single point.
Crowder-to-Ayton Connection
Despite the run made by the LA Clippers in the final two minutes of the ball, it was the Deandre Ayton-Jae Crowder alley-oop connection who sealed the deal at home for the Phoenix Suns.
According to NBA.com, the Phoenix Suns were down one with 0.9 seconds left when Crowder launched a high pass from an inbound play on the baseline to set up the Suns offense.
A soaring Ayton came down the lane to catch the ball and jammed it through the net over Clippers' center Ivica Zubac. The game-winning play made the crowd inside the Talking Stick Resort Arena roaring and in disbelief at what they just have witnessed.
After the play, the referees reviewed the play before ruling that the basket was good. The Clippers had 0.7 seconds remaining on their clock to throw a "hail mary" shot.
The ball fell into the hands of Paul George, coming off a pass from Nicolas Batum on the other side, but PG13 missed the shot.
The Crowder-to-Ayton connection spoiled the rally made by the Clippers in Game 2 led by Paul George, who had 26 points in the game.
The Clippers displayed their defensive dominance in the game, but they fell short as the Suns found an opening to secure the two games at their home.
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Rally the Valley
The Clippers took the lead with 31 seconds left for the first time, 101-100. PG13 and Suns guard Devin Booker responded with a jumper, but Paul George took the ball on the next possession and drilled a long two-pointer to grab the lead, 103-102.
However, when he was fouled with 8.2 seconds remaining, Paul George missed his two free throws, which the Suns capitalized, The Draft Kings Nations reported.
Suns' Mikal Bridges missed a corner 3-pointer and but the ball was deflected out of bounds in the baseline. The Clippers thought that they had disrupted the Suns' offense, but instead, the out-of-bounds play made it possible for Crowder to set up Ayton, who was a dominant force in the paint all night long to catch an alley-oop jam.
The Game 2 win against the Clippers marks as the nine straight wins of the team in the playoffs, which is a franchise record. So far, the last team that was able to beat the Suns was the LA Lakers.
Despite the absence of Chris Paul for the Suns, they did not miss his production. Cameron Payne, the Suns starting point guard due to the absence of CP3, was brilliant the whole night.
Payne finished with a career-high 29 points. While Ayton had 22 points and 14 rebounds, and Booker added 20 points.
The Suns now have a 2-0 commanding lead in the series as they headed to Los Angeles for Game 3 of the West Finals on Thursday night.
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WATCH: DeAndre Ayton INSANE GAME WINNER vs Clippers in Game 2 - From Chaz NBA
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