On April 10, Beijing time, the Clippers challenged the Suns away. This game is important for both teams, if the Clippers win, they will continue to solidify their fourth position, and the suspense of entering the top half of the playoffs will not be great, and the Suns will also go all out, and they are competing with the Pelicans for the 6th place in the West, and they will definitely not dare to be careless. But I didn't expect that the game process was a big surprise, the Clippers blasted out 37-10 in the first quarter, and the last three quarters all became garbage time, the Suns bench was like ashes, and I couldn't figure out what was going on with the main players, Thomas, who had just signed a contract, was like ashes, he originally thought that it was possible to get a ring with the Suns, but now the dream is shattered, and there is no hope at all.
In the first quarter, the Suns once trailed by 30 points 7-37, which is also the most exaggerated first quarter of the 23-24 season so far, you must know that the Suns except Nurkic, all the other core players participated in the game, and the Clippers were led by George's single core, Harden and Leonard did not play, and it can be seen through this game that the Suns have no hope of winning the championship, and it is difficult to enter the semifinals even if they reach the playoffs. In the second quarter, not only did the point difference not narrow, but it was already running for 40 points, Vogel could let the bench players play in the second half, and Durant, Booker, and Beal were in a collective slump.
In the third quarter, the Suns gradually regained their shooting touch, narrowing the difference to less than 30 points, even if they lose, they can't make the scene too ugly, after all, they are still playing at home, and the Suns also need to take care of the feelings of Phoenix fans. In this quarter, the Suns played 35-18, with 16 points left, and the hole in front was too big. In the fourth quarter, the Suns narrowed the gap to 10 points and saw hope of victory, and in the end, the Clippers defeated the Suns 105-92.
The Suns' Durant had 21 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, Booker had 12 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists, and Beal had 19 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. The Clippers' George scored 23 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, Mann had 17 points and 10 rebounds, Zubac had 17 points and 13 rebounds, Wei Shao completely exploded, cutting 16 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists, Powell had 10 points and 5 rebounds, and the Clippers five tigers combined for 83+50.
After the Clippers defeated the Suns, they have secured the 4th position in the West, and currently have won 4 consecutive wins, 2 wins ahead of the 5th Mavericks, and there is no suspense in the 4th battle. The Suns suffered two consecutive defeats, two wins behind the Mavericks, and were overtaken by the Pelicans, not only difficult to compete for the fifth place in the West, but now they can't even hold on to the sixth position.
No. 6 in the West officially changed hands, and after the Pelicans defeated the Trail Blazers, they finished in 6th place in the West with 47 wins and 32 losses, and the Suns were in 7th place, one win behind the Pelicans. The Western Conference playoff pattern has changed dramatically, the Pelicans are likely to get a direct playoff spot, and the Suns lost the most critical game and are likely to participate in the play-offs, and the other three teams with a high probability of participating in the play-offs are the Kings, Lakers and Warriors, which is really exciting.