On April 26, Beijing time, the Suns defeated the Clippers 136-130 at home, and eliminated their opponents 4-1 in the series to reach the Western Conference semifinals. Booker exploded in this game, with 47 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists and 2 steals. Durant had 31 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Paul had 15 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Ayton had 21 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists. The four stars of the Suns erupted collectively.
The Clippers fought to the end, they lacked Xiaoka and George, and their strength was indeed inferior to the Sun. Wei Shao's hand slipped, shooting 3-of-18 from the field and scoring 14 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. Powell had 27 points and three assists. Mason Plumlee had 20 points and 10 rebounds. The Clippers are out of the game, and their total salary this season is $193 million, ranking first in the league and surpassing the Warriors. But this season they were crushed by injuries.
Booker performed a number of miraculous results in the game, averaging 37.2 points per game in the playoffs this season, surpassing Butler's 36.5 points to first in the league. Booker recorded at least 40 points and 10 assists for the second time in the playoffs, surpassing Barkley and Kevin Johnson (one each), becoming the Suns' first all-time. Booker has already cut 40+ twice in the playoffs this season, becoming the only player to do so multiple times in the playoffs this season. Booker scored 30+ in the playoffs for the 17th time, surpassing Barkley's all-time first.
The Clippers played very tenaciously, trailing 30-32 in the first quarter, but went 40-29 in the second quarter to take the lead. But Booker went crazy in the third quarter, scoring a crazy 25 points on 10-of-11 shooting in the quarter to lead the Suns on a 50-24 offensive run and seize the initiative.
The Clippers didn't give up, chasing points in the final quarter, and the team scored four consecutive three-pointers at one point to close the gap to three points. Unfortunately, the Suns scorers were too steady on offense. The Clippers still lost the game.
Wei Shao finished the playoffs with 23.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.4 blocks, shooting 41% from the field, 35.7% from three-point range and 88% from the free-throw line.
Wei Shao's future is in suspense, the Clippers' salary space is locked, and there is no big contract to keep Wei Shao, unless he significantly cuts his salary to renew it. It's been a disappointing season for the Clippers, who have the strongest depth if the roster stays healthy, but both stars are down and they can only accept the fate of being out of the first round.