NBA: Deandre Ayton's last-second dunk lifts Suns over Clippers

Deandre Ayton made a go-ahead alley-oop dunk off an inbound pass with 0.7 seconds remaining as the Phoenix Suns earned a 104-103 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.

Cameron Payne scored a career-high 29 points for the Suns, and Ayton contributed 24 points and 14 rebounds. Devin Booker scored 20 points, playing after getting his nose bloodied late in the third quarter and receiving stitches.

The Suns increased their playoff winning streak to nine games.

Payne stepped up to make 12 of 24 shots from the field and had nine assists with no turnovers. 

He was starting at point guard for the second consecutive game with Chris Paul in health and safety protocol after he reportedly tested positive for COVID-19.

Paul George scored 26 points and Reggie Jackson added 19 for the Clippers, who fell behind 2-0 in their third consecutive series. 

They rallied to defeat the Dallas Mavericks in the first round and came back against the top-seeded Utah Jazz in the conference semifinals.

George missed a pair of free throws with 8.2 seconds remaining that gave the Suns a chance to win the game.

The Clippers were playing their fourth consecutive playoff game without forward Kawhi Leonard, who is out due to a sprained right knee.

Game 3 is set for Thursday night in Los Angeles, where the Clippers have won their past four after losing their first three home contests to Dallas.

The teams traded the lead multiple times in the final minute. The Clippers took a 101-100 advantage with 30.9 seconds remaining on a layup by George that came after Ivica Zubac blocked Payne's layup attempt. Zubac had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers.

Booker put the Suns back in front 102-101 on a contested jump shot from the elbow of the key with 27 seconds remaining, but George answered with an 18-foot jump shot for a 103-102 lead with 22.2 seconds left.

After Patrick Beverley forced Booker into a turnover with 9.3 seconds remaining, George could have given the Clippers a three-point advantage, but he missed two free throws. He was 5 of 10 from the line in the game.

Mikal Bridges missed a 3-point attempt with 3.3 seconds remaining that would have given the Suns the lead, but the Clippers tipped the ball out of bounds with under a second left. 

Jae Crowder then lobbed the inbound pass toward the rim, with Ayton slamming down the game-winning basket.

Los Angeles could not get off another shot before the final horn sounded.

-reuters-

NBA: Irving leads Celtics in OT rally past Suns

Kyrie Irving recorded a season-high 39 points and also had seven rebounds and six assists to help the Boston Celtics rally to a 116-109 overtime victory over the host Phoenix Suns on Thursday night.

Marcus Morris added 17 points and drained the tying 3-point basket in regulation as Boston recovered from a 22-point third-quarter deficit. Jaylen Brown connected on the go-ahead 3-pointer in overtime to cap a 17-point effort and Terry Rozier added 10 points.

Devin Booker scored a season-high 38 points and added nine assists and TJ Warren scored a season-high 29 points for Phoenix, which has dropped nine of its 11 games this season. Deandre Ayton contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds and Trevor Ariza added 11 points and nine rebounds.

The Celtics recovered from a poor-shooting first half to finish at 40.2 percent, including 14-of-37 from 3-point range. The Suns shot 44.1 percent and were 11-of-35 from 3-point range.

Boston trailed by 19 points after the opening quarter and by 25 after the third period but rallied with a 20-6 run at the end of regulation to force overtime.

Brown's 3-pointer gave Boston a 112-109 lead with 2:05 left in overtime and Morris added a layup 26 seconds later. Jayson Tatum added two free throws with nine seconds left to close it out.

The Celtics trailed by 14 with 3:45 remaining in regulation before Irving (five) and Brown (four) scored all the points during a 9-0 surge to cut the Suns' lead to 94-89 with 2:05 remaining.

Boston kept on the pressure and moved within 98-95 on Irving's 3-pointer with 35.9 seconds left and Brown's basket with 7.3 seconds left moved the Celtics within one. Warren connected on two free throws with 6.1 seconds remaining to give Phoenix a 100-97 edge.

Morris drained a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining to knot the score. It was Boston's six trey of the quarter.

Warren scored 19 first-half points as Phoenix led 55-35 at the break.

The Celtics shot a meager 21.7 percent from the field in the half - 10-for-46 -- and committed 10 turnovers.

Irving was the only Boston starter to score in the first half and he was just 3-of-10 shooting while scoring 13 points. The other four starters -- Brown, Gordon Hayward, Al Horford and Tatum -- missed all 15 of their shots.

Irving opened the contest with a 3-pointer before the Suns scored the next 15 points.

Booker's 17-footer with 0.5 seconds left gave the Suns a 32-13 edge in a stanza in which the Celtics went 4-of-22 from the field.

Phoenix stretched its lead to 48-26 on Booker's 3-pointer with 4:31 to play in the half.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Raptors move to 8-1 after eclipsing Suns

Kawhi Leonard scored 19 points, grabbed six rebounds and added five assists as the visiting Toronto Raptors defeated the Phoenix Suns 107-98 Friday night.

Kyle Lowry added 11 points, 12 assists and six rebounds for the Raptors, who have won eight of their first nine games this season. The Suns have lost seven in a row after winning their season opener.

It was the seventh consecutive game in which Lowry has had 10 or more assists, matching a team record. It was his sixth double-double of the season.

Jonas Valanciunas had 16 points, seven rebounds and four blocks for Toronto while Serge Ibaka added 14 points and Pascal Siakam had 10.

Leonard left the game and went to the dressing room with 2:42 to play with what was described as a jammed foot.

Isaiah Canaan had 19 points for the Suns, while Deandre Ayton had 17 points and a career-best 18 rebounds. Devin Booker added 18 points, Josh Jackson 11 while Trevor Ariza and T.J. Warren had 10 apiece.

The Raptors took a six-point lead into the fourth quarter that increased to 16 with 8:30 to play when Norman Powell hit a 3-pointer to complete an 8-0 surge.

Canaan's 3-pointer trimmed Toronto's lead to 13 with 4:31 left.

After the Suns led 26-23 after the first quarter, Ryan Anderson's 3-pointer with 5:39 to play in the second quarter gave the Suns a seven-point lead. The Suns regained a three-point lead on a 3-pointer by Ariza with 44.1 seconds left and Phoenix led 52-48 at halftime.

Ayton had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Phoenix in the first half and Canaan had 12 points. Leonard led the Raptors with 12 points in the first half.

Toronto took a seven-point lead on a 3-pointer by Danny Green with 9:45 to go in the third quarter, capping a 10-0 run.

The Suns responded with a 7-0 run to tie the game at 61 with 7:53 on Booker's 18-foot jumper.

The Raptors reeled off an 8-0 surge to take a 69-61 lead with 3:26 to play in the third on OG Anunoby's dunk.

Fred VanVleet's 3-pointer bumped the lead to 10 with 2:04 left in the third.

Jackson nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut Toronto's lead to 77-71 after three quarters.

Booker was back with the Suns after missing three games. Meanwhile, VanVleet returned to the Toronto lineup after missing four games and Anunoby returned after missing three games.

source: news.abs-cbn.com