PHOENIX — The Clippers were hoping to build some momentum Tuesday night, but the Phoenix Suns had other ideas.
Jordan Goodwin scored 18 points in his return from a calf injury, Devin Booker added 17 and the Phoenix Suns cruised past the Clippers, 133-110.
Phoenix shot 22 for 43 (51%) from 3-point range and had seven players score in double digits, including five who came off the bench. Luke Kennard had a season-high 14 points, Jalen Green scored 13 and Collin Gillespie added 12 points and eight assists while Khaman Maluach contributed 11 points and seven rebounds.
The Clippers (2-8) were coming off their first win in more than two weeks, but they have now lost eight of their last nine games. Rui Hachimura, Baba Miller and Darius Garland all scored 13 points while Max Strus had 12. Garland also had six assists and five rebounds.
The Suns (4-6) had a 17-point halftime lead and extended the advantage to 91-59 with four minutes left in the third quarter. The Suns, who rested all five of their starters in the fourth quarter, improved to 3-2 on their season-long, seven-game homestand.
Goodwin – who signed a $19 million, three-year deal to return to the Suns during the offseason – shot 6 for 7 from behind the arc in just 14 minutes. He sat out the past three games.
The Suns ran away early. They closed the first quarter on a 13-0 run sparked by a pair of 3-pointers from Gillespie and one from Goodwin to take a 29-18 lead.
Goodwin scored 12 of his 18 first-half points in the second quarter, making 3-pointers on two consecutive possessions midway through the period to help Phoenix take a 48-31 lead.
The Suns made 11 of 22 shots from distance in the first half, sinking eight in the second quarter, and Gillespie’s 39-foot 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer put the Suns up 64-47 at halftime.
Booker, Green and Bridges had two 3-pointers apiece early in the third quarter, when the Suns opened the second half on a 22-9 surge for an 86-56 advantage.
The Suns beat the Clippers 49-37 on the glass after outrebounding only one of their first nine opponents.
UP NEXT
The Clippers host Oklahoma City on Friday at 7:30 p.m.