Behind a triple-double from Russell Westbrook, the Clippers clinched a playoff berth Tuesday, avoiding the NBA’s postseason play-in tournament by withstanding a furious Phoenix Suns’ rally for a 105-92 win that guaranteed them at least a top-five finish in the Western Conference standings.
None of that should come as a surprise: The Clippers have finished in the top five in the regular-season standings nine times in the last 12 seasons and it would have taken an epic collapse in the season’s final week not to do so again.
What they haven’t done is make a long playoff run, reaching the conference final only once in franchise history. And that makes Tuesday’s triumph just the first step on a familiar journey that will only get harder as it gets longer.
As for who and where the Clippers will play in the postseason, that could be determined as early as Wednesday’s rematch with the Suns in Los Angeles. (Spoiler alert: It will probably be Dallas, the Clippers’ first-round opponent in two of the last four seasons. The Clippers won both series.) But until the Clippers clinch the home-court advantage for their playoff opener, coach Tyronn Lue said his team’s focus won’t change.
“We’ve got to secure a spot. We can’t relax,” he said.
“Just keep getting better, keep playing good basketball going into the playoffs. That’s where our mindset is.”
The Clippers certainly weren’t distracted at the start Tuesday, running out to a 17-point lead in the opening 4 1/2 minutes and looking back only after a rash of second-half turnovers allowed Phoenix to close the margin to seven points with under seven minutes left in the fourth quarter. Westbrook, starting because of injuries to Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, played a big part in that big lead, scoring 16 points while recording season highs with 15 assists and 15 rebounds.
It was his 199th career triple-double, extending his record for the most in NBA history.
Phoenix, playing at home for the final time in the regular season, gave its fans little to cheer about early, missing nine its first 10 shots and shooting just 10.5% from the field, missing all four three-point ties in a first period that ended with the Clippers leading 37-10.
When the Suns’ Devin Booker hit four free throws late in the period, the crowd responded with mock cheers. Even so, the 10 points were the fewest the Clippers have given up in an opening quarter in nearly two decades.
And when Bones Hyland drilled a three-pointer less than four minutes into the second period, the Clippers’ led 51-14, the 37-point advantage marking the team’s largest on the road this season.
But the Clippers, who turned the ball over 18 times, would give most of that lead back before holding on for their fourth win in a row and seventh in eight games. And they did it without Leonard, who sat out his fifth straight game because of inflammation in his right knee, and Harden, who is dealing with inflammation in his right foot. Leonard is the team’s leading scorer while Harden entered Tuesday fourth in the league in assists at 8.6 per game.
With three games left in the regulation season and the postseason looming, Lue sais he was taking no chances with his two stars.
“We’ve got to be smart going into the playoffs,” he said. “So we’re just taking it day by day.”
That left Lue starting a backcourt of Norman Powell and Westbrook, who had combined for just a dozen starts before Tuesday.
Paul George led the Clippers with a game-high 23 points, giving him more than 18,000 points for his career and becoming one of only seven active players with at least 18,000 points, 5,000 rebounds and 3,000 assists. Ivica Zubac (17 points), Terance Mann (17), Amir Coffey (13) and Powell (10) joined George and Westbrook in double figures.
Kevin Durant led the Suns with 21 points, two more than Bradley Beal.