Phoenix Suns vs Los Angeles Clippers Prediction: Can Durant break his Playoffs losing streak?

In the NBA, a loss or two is not that big of a deal during the Regular Season but when the action goes to the Playoffs, a loss or two bites much more because four losses in a series means that the team is eliminated. As the Phoenix Suns come into the game trailing 0-1, can Durant and co. tie things up?

Dating back to last year’s sweep against the Celtics when he was with the Nets, Kevin Durant has now lost six in a row as the Suns were handed a surprise 110:115 loss by the Clippers. The Clippers jumped to a 30:18 lead in the first quarter, which was cut to five points by the half ended. The Suns tied the game in the third quarter but in the final quarter, the Clippers were on fire offensively and made some impressive defensive plays late in the game to fend off the Suns.

For the Suns, Durant had 27, Booker had 26 and Torrey Craig had a surprising 22 points effort. Chris Paul had 11 rebounds and 10 assists but shot just 2/10 from the floor. Deandre Ayton had 16 points and eight rebounds while the bench contributed merely 10 points. For the Clippers, expectedly, Kawhi Leonard stacked up 38 points on 13/24 shooting whereas Eric Gordon had 19 points. Russell Westbrook had 11 rebounds and eight assists but had a horrendous 3/19 shooting night. Ivica Zubac had 12 points and 15 rebounds whereas Norman Powell had 14 points and Terance Mann had 10 points. The Clippers had a 15:6 offensive rebounding advantage and a 34:8 bench points edge.

• Clippers: OUT: Paul George;
• Suns: QUESTIONABLE: Cameron Payne.

• Expected Leading Scorers: Kevin Durant(30+ Points), Kawhi Leonard(28-34 Points);
• Expected Leading Rebounders: Ivica Zubac(11-13 Rebounds), Deandre Ayton(9-13 Rebounds);
• Expected Leading Playmakers: Chris Paul(10-13 Assists), Russell Westbrook(9-11 Assists).

The Suns and the Clippers both have their own issues this season and their inconsistencies were visible in the opening game. The Suns were taken aback by the Clippers’ zeal to win in the first game so they will need to be ready here and pinch out more production out of their bench for sure. Anyway, I back the Suns to win here and predict a scoreline of 112:108 in their favor.