NBA Game Notes (April 16, 2023)
Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on April 16, 2023.
Clippers Rally, Upset Suns
The LA Clippers rallied from an eight-point deficit with less than 3:00 remaining in the third quarter to upset the Phoenix Suns 115-110 in Game 1 of their Western Conference First Round series. It’s the Suns’ first loss with Kevin Durant on the floor (they were 8-0 in the regular season when he played).
The Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard scored a game-high 38 points, shooting 13-24 from the field and making nine of his 10 free throws. Leonard also grabbed five rebounds and dished out five assists. Leonard has scored at least 20 points in each of his last 12 playoff games with the Clippers, the second-longest such streak in franchise history (Paul George, 19).
Teammate Russell Westbrook suffered through a miserable shooting night — making just three of his 19 attempts from the field — but contributed 11 rebounds, eight assists, three blocks, and two steals. Westbrook’s final block came with 10.1 seconds remaining in the game, when he rejected a layup attempt by Devin Booker that would have cut the Clippers’ lead to one point.
Clippers center Ivica Zubac produced a double-double, scoring 12 points and snagging a game-high 15 rebounds. Zubac made five of the eight shots he took from the field.
Durant led the Suns with 27 points, making seven of his 15 attempts from the field and all 10 of his free throws. Durant also recorded a team-high 11 assists and nine rebounds.
Booker scored 26 points for the Suns, shooting 10-19 from the floor and 6-8 from the free throw line. He also recorded game highs of four steals and three blocks (tied with Westbrook).
Backcourt mate Chris Paul was held to just seven points, but tallied 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Paul has 56 postseason double-doubles — third among active players — but this is the first time he’s recorded such a game without reaching double figures in points.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Statitudes to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.