'Genius play': NBA fans in awe after 'flawless' game-winner
Deandre Ayton came through at the perfect time on Tuesday night to lift the Phoenix Suns to a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.
Ayton, with just 0.9 seconds left on the clock, expertly tipped in an inbounds pass from Jae Crowder to lift the Suns to a 104-103 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
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Suns coach Monty Williams said after the game that the team had never walked through that final play before, but that they had tried to run it in the previous series with the Denver Nuggets.
"We were trying to get a lob for DA, and [Crowder had] the awareness to just put it up there where DA could only get it,” Williams said.
"Devin set a great screen, Jae makes a great pass. It’s just one of those things that happens that you’re just grateful for … It was unreal execution at the end."
In typical fashion, fans went absolutely nuts over the play.
The Suns and Clippers had been battling back and forth the whole game, with Ayton's dunk the crescendo of a sensational playoff battle.
That is literally the perfect play. The pass from Crowder. The screen by Booker. The dunk by Ayton
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) June 23, 2021
That alley oop was a GENIUS play. Why don’t teams do that from out of bounds more often?? What a pass by Jae Crowder, screen by Devin Booker, and finish by DeAndre Ayton.
— Ryan Glasspiegel (@sportsrapport) June 23, 2021
One of the best OOB sets I've ever seen. Perfect pass from Crowder.
Also that play pushed Ayton over 36 points + rebounds and won my roommate some nice dough— Ben Dowsett (@Ben_Dowsett) June 23, 2021
Flawless play, flawless pass, great concentration by Ayton. Wow.
— Jerry Brewer (@JerryBrewer) June 23, 2021
Just a brilliant inbound play and execution by Phoenix. Paul George misses two FTs, Bridges misses the open 3 but the Suns benefit from the review to draw up the lob to Ayton. What a finish.
— Josh Frydman (@Josh_Frydman) June 23, 2021
After a close battle throughout the first half, the Suns took the largest lead of the game in the third quarter — a brief nine-point advantage they secured after holding the Clippers scoreless for more than three minutes.
That lead was short-lived, though, as the Clippers cut it to just four points by the end of the period.
Devin Booker and Clippers guard Patrick Beverley both had to leave the game briefly near the end of the third quarter after they headbutted on the wing.
The collision sent Booker to the ground bleeding from his nose.
Both Booker and Beverley — who was just called for a common foul on the play — returned to the court for the fourth quarter, though Booker needed stitches in the locker room. He will likely receive an X-ray on his nose on Wednesday and may need a protective mask.
"He was probably playing with a great deal of pain," Williams said after the game, via USA Today's Mark Medina.
"I thought he broke his nose when I saw it. I was worried about the blood continuing to flow."
Phoenix Suns hold on for thrilling game two win over Clippers
With just more than a minute left while the Suns held a three point lead, Booker was called for an offensive foul after Beverley was hit on a drive and went down — which prompted a lengthy review.
Booker got called for a foul on the other end, which sent the Clippers to the free throw line and allowed them to cut the game to just a single point. Payne then drove to the rim for a layup but was stopped in his tracks by Ivica Zubac, prompting a Paul George layup to give the Clippers their first lead of the period with just 30 seconds left.
Booker, though, hit a mid-range jumper from the top of the key off an inbounds play to retake the lead for the Suns — which Paul George matched almost perfectly on the other end.
The Clippers stopped Booker and reclaimed the ball after a review determined that Booker had sent the ball out of bounds, and eventually sent George to the free throw line. He missed both shots, though, which set the Suns up with one last chance.
That’s when the Suns set up Ayton perfectly above the rim to complete the play over Ivica Zubac to give them the one-point win.
George led the Clippers with 26 points, six assists and six rebounds. Reggie Jackson added 19 points, and Zubac finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Cameron Payne filled in for Chris Paul without missing a beat on Tuesday night, and dropped a career-high 29 points and nine assists while the future Hall of Famer is still sidelined due to COVID-19 health and safety protocol. Paul did FaceTime into the locker room after the win to celebrate.
Ayton finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds while missing just three shots from the field, and Booker finished with 20 points. The Suns have now won nine straight games in the postseason.
Game 3 of the series is set for Thursday night in Los Angeles.
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