Paul George has scored at least 25 points in eight straight games entering Saturday.
Game 4: Suns at Clippers
9 p.m. ET, ESPN | Suns lead 2-1
• For the third straight series, the Clippers won Game 3 after falling behind 0-2 in the series. With a combined 50 points from Paul George (27) and Reggie Jackson (23) and a defensive effort that held the Suns to their fewest points (92) and lowest field goal percentage (38.9) of the 2021 playoffs, the Clippers got themselves back into the series. George extended his streak of 25+ point games to eight in a row – the longest active streak and tied for the longest streak of the 2021 postseason.
• The Suns saw their franchise-record nine-game playoff win streak come to an end in Game 3 as Devin Booker (5-21 FG in first game with a facemask to protect his broken nose) and Chris Paul (5-19 FG in his first game of the series) combined to shoot just 10-40 from the field and 3-14 from beyond the arc. Booker’s 15 points were a playoff low and a mark he was held to (or below) only five times during the regular season. He responded to those low-scoring games by averaging 26.4 points on 48%-40%-80% shooting splits in his following game with the Suns going 4-1.
• Patrick Beverley was the primary defender on Devin Booker for the second straight game (since being inserted into the starting lineup). In Game 3, Beverley held Booker to four points on 1-6 shooting form the field, two assists and one turnover in 4:45 (36.8% of Booker’s offensive matchup time. For the series, Beverley has allowed only 12 points on 4-15 FG, 0-2 3P, 4-4 FT shooting, with four assist and four turnovers in 13:59 of matchup time with Booker.
• After averaging 57 points in the paint in the first two games, the Suns were held to 42 paint points in Game 3 as the Clippers were much more effective at defending Phoenix’s drives to the basket. In Games 1-2, the Suns averaged 46 drives that produced 27.5 points per game on 53.2% (25-47 FG). In Game 3, the Suns had 54 drives that produced only 19 points as they shot just 23.1% (6-26) on those drives. Cameron Payne – who left after four minutes in Game 3 with an ankle injury and did not return – had averaged a series-best 11.5 points off drives in the first two games of the series.
• The Clippers have used three different starting lineups in this series based on matchup strategy and player availability. Their starting five in Game 3 – Reggie Jackson, Patrick Beverley, Paul George, Terance Mann and Ivica Zubac – was a plus-13 in 21 minutes on the court together. The lineup scored 56 points on 53.7% shooting and had eight assists against only two turnovers and recorded five steals.
