Suns get off to ugly start, historic comeback falls short against Clippers 105-92

PHOENIX (AZFamily)— The Suns got off to an atrocious start and couldn’t pull off the historic comeback as they fell to the Los Angeles Clippers at home on Tuesday night, 105-92.

The Suns were down by as many as 37 points in the second quarter but never gave up.

Phoenix closed the third quarter on a 12-0 run and outscored Los Angeles 35-18, cutting the lead to 84-68 heading into the final quarter.

The Suns were within nine, 99-90, after Bradley Beal drove in for a layup with 2:41 left.

But the rally was shut down for good when Amir Caffey hit two free throws and then Beal had the ball stolen, which led to a Russell Westbrook lay-in on the other end to make it 103-90 with 1:49 left.

The Clippers have now won four straight games and are 3-0 against the Suns this season.

The Suns’ start to the game was ugly. They were outscored 35-4 in the first 10 minutes.

Fans weren’t happy with the awful start, as the boos got loud during the third timeout when no one helped inbound the ball.

Phoenix was 2-19 from the field in the first quarter, as the Clippers finished the quarter with a 37-10 lead.

Only Booker, Beal, and Drew Eubanks scored points in the first, with Eubanks getting the Suns only field goals.

But Phoenix avoided setting the NBA record for fewest points in a quarter, which is five.

The Suns had a shot at NBA history by nearly erasing a 37-point deficit.

The biggest comeback is 36 points by Utah against Denver on Nov. 27, 1996. The largest comeback in Suns’ history is 29 points at Boston on Dec. 5, 2003.

Tuesday’s game is the first of a back-to-back set against the Clippers. The two teams square off on Wednesday in Los Angeles.

The Suns are fighting to stay out of the Play-In Tournament by being the sixth seed or better.

But since the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Portland Trailblazers on Tuesday night, they moved to sixth and the Suns dropped to seventh.

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