INGLEWOOD — Playing an opponent twice in eight days has its benefits. The teams know each other’s tendencies and remember what schemes they like to run.
So, when the Clippers hosted the Phoenix Suns for the second time in five games on Thursday, recalling what happened before wasn’t an issue.
“There’s not any real advantage playing against three Hall of Famers, but we know what they are running,” Lue said. “We know how they tried to attack us last game. We know how we need to play, how to attack them.”
That memory muscle didn’t save the Clippers on Thursday night, when they built a 21-point lead before losing to the Suns, 125-119, at the Intuit Dome. The loss came one night after they gave away a late lead in a one-point loss to Portland.
This game didn’t resemble the opening night contest in which the Suns won in overtime. In that game, the Clippers watched helplessly as hot-shooting Phoenix made all 10 of its free throws in the extra period. But it was a harbinger of things to come as the Clippers’ next two games came down to the final minute.
Nothing changed this time. After leading by as many as 19 in the first half, the Clippers again were left scrambling for an advantage in the waning moments, an edge that never materialized.
The Suns pulled ahead by what looked to be an insurmountable eight-point lead at 115-107 on a floater by Royce O’Neale.
James Harden trimmed the deficit to six with 1:58 left and added a pair of free throws at the 1:25 mark to get the hosts within 115-111. The six-time All-Star guard made one of two foul shots before O’Neale buried a corner 3-pointer to give the Suns an 118-112 lead with 44 seconds remaining.
The Clippers (2-3) couldn’t mount any sort of comeback as the clock ran out, dropping them to 0-3 at their new arena.
“We just have to have our focus,” Lue said before the game. “I think we had some breakdowns defensively last game, and offensively as well. I think we just have to finish the game. Just learn from our mistakes going down the stretch. We just gotta be better.”
The Clippers did none of those things down the stretch. Every time the Clippers pushed ahead, the Suns (4-1) pushed back.
Kevin Durant, who said fans in The Wall section affected him in the previous game, showed more poise the second time, scoring 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Devin Booker was seemingly unflappable, scoring a game-high 40 points on 11-of-18 shooting (5 for 9 from 3-point range) with eight assists.
Harden finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists, his fourth triple-double as a Clipper, the fourth-most in franchise history. He also notched his fourth consecutive game with a points/assists double-double, the longest streak by a Clippers player since Chris Paul in 2017.
Ivica Zubac posted another double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds, while Norman Powell had 23 points.
Kevin Porter Jr., who has had a lackluster start to his Clippers career, had his best outing of the early season. Sporting green hair (part of his pregame Joker costume), he scored 14 points
With Harden in charge, the Clippers jumped out to a double-digit lead and led 37-20 after one quarter. He had 12 points and seven assists in his first 11 minutes.
The Clippers eventually pulled away to a 19-point lead (46-37) in the second quarter, sowing the seeds for a potential blowout victory.
The Suns, despite playing without Bradley Beal (elbow), clawed their way back into the game, pulling to within 50-40 before Powell got hot, scoring eight consecutive points to put the Clippers firmly ahead heading into halftime. They led 70-52 at halftime and led by 21 in the first minute of the third quarter, but the Suns outscored them 39-23 in the period to get within a basket going into the fourth.
Booker and Durant got going in the third to spark the Suns, combining for 20 points. O’Neale, who finished with 21 points, and Ryan Dunn, who had 16, also had some timely long-distance shots after the break.
Phoenix finished with 73 points in the second half.
More to come on this story.