Home is where the Suns shine.
Phoenix will return to its own building Thursday night to meet the Los Angeles Clippers in the first game of a home-and-home set, and the Suns will welcome the familiar surroundings.
The Suns are 3-1 at home this season, with their only loss coming on Ja Morant’s 11-footer in the lane with 7.6 seconds remaining in Memphis’ 114-113 victory on Oct. 29.
Since then, the Suns have double-digit home victories over the Utah Jazz and San Antonio Spurs. They led by as many as 25 in a 118-96 victory over the Jazz, and most recently built a 31-point lead to hand the Spurs their first loss 130-118 on Sunday.
Phoenix overcame a 17-point deficit to beat the Sacramento Kings in the season opener at home but enter Thursday after a 118-107 loss at Golden State in a game in which the Suns fell behind by 25 points and dropped to 0-4 on the road.
“Just not following the game plan,” said Suns guard Devin Booker, who had a season-high 38 points. “We got to come in more focused. We got to get off to a better start.”
The Clippers enter after a 126-107 home loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, when they played the defending champions even into the third quarter but gave up a 17-0 run in the late third and early fourth.
“Basketball is a game of runs, defending champs, simple,” Clippers guard James Harden said of the outcome. “It’s a four-quarter game.”
Harden had 25 points, six assists and six rebounds while leading the Clippers, who played without Kawhi Leonard (knee) and Bradley Beal (ankle) in the second game of a back-to-back. Harden had three points in the second half.
Leonard, who is expected to play against the Suns, has 61 points and 10 steals in his last two games. He joined Ron Harper (twice) and Chris Paul as the only players in franchise history to hit those numbers. Paul, like Beal, also played for the Suns.
Beal will make his first appearance in Phoenix since the ill-fitting marriage ended in divorce after last season, when the Suns waived him and ate the final two years and $110 million of his contract. Beal signed a two-year, $11 million deal with the Clippers in the offseason.
Leonard had 26 points and Beal six in the Clippers’ 129-102 home victory over the Suns on Oct. 24. The teams will meet for the final time on Feb. 1.
The Suns’ Mark Williams had a 16-point, 16-rebound, double-double against the Warriors in 27 minutes and appears to be playing on a minutes’ limit. He has played more than 28 minutes once, when he went 31 in an overtime loss at Utah on Oct. 27.
“Whenever I am out there, I try to make an impact,” Williams said.
The Suns again were without Dillon Brooks (core muscle) and Jalen Green (hamstring) at Golden State, and their status for Thursday remains unknown. Green appears to be getting close to making his season debut after going through a 5-on-5 pregame workout Tuesday.
“Definitely trending in the right direction,” Suns coach Jordan Ott said of Green, who has not played since hamstring injury in training camp.
Grayson Allen (16.4 points per game) has started alongside Booker in the backcourt, and Royce O’Neale is averaging 13.4 points and 6.6 rebounds with 19 made 3-pointers in five starts in place of Brooks.
–Field Level Media
