LOS ANGELES (AP) — As Kevin Durant pulled the defender’s mark, Devin Booker found the way clear and kept on scoring.
Booker had 45 points, Durant 28 and the Phoenix Suns beat the Kawhi Leonard-less Los Angeles Clippers 129-124 Thursday night for a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference playoff series. .
“He set the tone, he got to the basket, he made plays for everybody, he just controlled the game,” Durant said of Booker. “We’re going to need him to continue to do that to keep moving forward,” he said.
Leonard was sidelined with a sprained right knee, the same injury that has sidelined fellow star Paul George since March 21.
Leonard was injured in Game 1, played hurt in Game 2 and then his knee didn’t improve.
“It’s about those games with the trick, where you think that because a team is not going to have an important player that you take your foot off the gas a little bit,” Booker said.
“They were applied tonight. The whole team was ready and we didn’t let up,” he added.
Norman Powell was the Clippers’ best offensive player: He scored a career-high 42 points in the playoffs on 15-of-23 shooting. Russell Westbrook had 30 points and 11 assists.
Both teams play Game Four in Los Angeles on Saturday.
