Los Angeles Clippers (44-38, fifth in the Western Conference) vs. Phoenix Suns (45-37, fourth in the Western Conference)
Phoenix; Sunday, 8 p.m. EDT
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK NBA LINE: Suns -7; over/under is 226
WESTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Suns host first series matchup
BOTTOM LINE: The Phoenix Suns host the Los Angeles Clippers to start the Western Conference first round. Phoenix and Los Angeles tied the regular season series 2-2. The Clippers won the last regular season meeting 119-114 on April 9. Norman Powell led the Clippers with 29 points, and Saben Lee led the Suns with 25 points.
The Suns are 9-7 against the rest of their division. Phoenix is the leader in the Western Conference in team defense, allowing 111.6 points while holding opponents to 46.6% shooting.
The Clippers are 9-7 against opponents in the Pacific Division. Los Angeles has a 20-25 record against teams over .500.
TOP PERFORMERS: Devin Booker is averaging 27.8 points and 5.5 assists for the Suns. Kevin Durant is averaging 12.8 points over the last 10 games for Phoenix.
Kawhi Leonard is shooting 51.2% and averaging 23.8 points for the Clippers. Nicolas Batum is averaging 2.2 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Los Angeles.
LAST 10 GAMES: Suns: 7-3, averaging 115.9 points, 45.8 rebounds, 28.4 assists, 5.8 steals and 7.0 blocks per game while shooting 46.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 110.3 points per game.
Clippers: 6-4, averaging 119.0 points, 41.7 rebounds, 27.9 assists, 7.4 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 51.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 116.8 points.
INJURIES: Suns: Cameron Payne: day to day (back), Bismack Biyombo: day to day (knee), Kevin Durant: day to day (ankle), T.J. Warren: day to day (illness).
Clippers: Paul George: out (leg), Marcus Morris Sr.: day to day (illness).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Magic Johnson says Lakers had trades for DeMar DeRozan, Buddy Hield 'done'
LeBron James breaks Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record for regular-season minutes
'It's bullsh--t': Anthony Edwards won't stand for criticism of 'big brother' Kevin Durant
Biggest contracts in North American team sports: Juan Soto tops select list of $300M players
LeBron James says NBA has bigger problems than All-Star Game: 'It's a lot of f---ing 3s'
Grizzlies beat Warriors by 51 points for largest win of NBA season so far
-
Magic Johnson says Lakers had trades for DeMar DeRozan, Buddy Hield 'done'
LeBron James breaks Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record for regular-season minutes
'It's bullsh--t': Anthony Edwards won't stand for criticism of 'big brother' Kevin Durant
-
Biggest contracts in North American team sports: Juan Soto tops select list of $300M players
LeBron James says NBA has bigger problems than All-Star Game: 'It's a lot of f---ing 3s'
Grizzlies beat Warriors by 51 points for largest win of NBA season so far
