Suns Favored to Take 3-0 Series Lead Over Clippers

The Clippers (55-32 SU, 48-37-2 ATS) have overcome a pair of 2-0 series holes already in these playoffs, but it won’t be easy to do it again vs the red-hot Suns (61-23, 51-31-2). Phoenix has won nine straight and opened as a 1-point road favorite in Game 3.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

Even in a do-or-die spot for the Clippers, oddsmakers made Phoenix a 1-point road favorite in Game 3 — although that spread could swell if Chris Paul returns tonight from COVID-19 protocol. Most early action was on the OVER, however, moving the total up to 221 at most betting sites by Wednesday night.

Phoenix News & Notes

Phoenix is quickly proving there’s been more to its success this season than Chris Paul and Devin Booker. Not only are the Suns 2-0 SU in this series without Paul, who is listed as probable to return tonight after sitting out two games in the league’s COVID-19 protocol, but they also extended their winning streak to nine games (8-1 ATS) without getting much from Booker on Tuesday. Phoenix’s star shooting guard missed 11 of his 16 field-goal attempts and committed seven turnovers two days after recording his first career triple-double in Game 1.

Tuesday was a tough night all around for Booker, who needed two stitches in his nose after being accidentally head-butted by Patrick Beverley — although reports surfaced Wednesday that he didn’t break his nose. With Booker struggling, Cam Payne stepped up big in just his second career postseason start, racking up 29 points on a team-high 24 shots and recording nine assists without committing a turnover.

Of course, the Suns also don’t win Game 2 without Deandre Ayton, and not just because of his alley-oop dunk off a Jae Crowder inbounds pass with 0.7 seconds left on the clock. Ayton missed just three of his 15 field-goal attempts on the way to a 24-point, 12-rebound evening, recording his eighth double-double in 12 postseason games.

Los Angeles News & Notes

Tuesday’s last-second loss was a real gut punch for a short-handed Clippers team that hasn’t had more than one day off between games since June 2. Beverley told the LA Times that few losses in his career have stung like Game 2, but he and his teammates can also be buoyed by the fact that they were able to overcome 2-0 deficits in each of their first two series wins. “We’re going to find a way, like we always do,” Beverley told the Times.

It’s not as if the Clippers have been outclassed in this series, even with Kawhi Leonard sidelined by a knee injury since the middle of Round 2. LA is 3-1 ATS in its four games without Kawhi, was within two points late in Game 1 before falling 120-114 as a 6-point underdog, and might have pulled off the outright upset Tuesday if Paul George hadn’t missed a pair of free throws with 8.2 seconds left on the clock.

If LA is going to turn the tide in Game 3, it probably won’t be because of Rajon Rondo, DeMarcus Cousins or Nicolas Batum. The Clippers have been outscored by 13 points in the 16 minutes that Rondo and Cousins have been on the floor together in this series, while Batum saw his minutes cut to 16 on Tuesday as Tyronn Lue inserted Ivica Zubac and Beverley back into the starting lineup.

Betting Pick: Suns -1

As resilient as the Clippers have been in these playoffs, it looks like they’ve met their match against this red-hot Phoenix squad.