By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
With 0.9 seconds left and the Phoenix Suns down by one, head coach Monty Williams had to resurrect one play that helped them gain cushion against the Denver Nuggets in Game 4.
For the second time in the playoffs, the Suns perfectly executed their block screen play that opened up for a clear Deandre Ayton alley-oop slam to give them the win, 104-103, and take a 2-0 Western Conference Finals lead against the Los Angeles Clippers.
It was the exact play that the Suns ran when they needed a basket to pull away against the resilient Denver Nuggets in Game 4.
Off a timeout, Chris Paul had a wide-open lay-up that was made possible by a back screen set by Devin Booker at the free-throw line.
During Game 2, it was also Booker who set the screen and sealed a trailing Ivica Zubac that wasn’t able to contest Ayton’s slam dunk winner.
It was a slugfest as the five-point Suns lead with 1:25 left in the fourth quickly vanished when the tough Clippers team sank clutch baskets courtesy of Luke Kennard and Paul George.
The Clippers eventually stole the Phoenix lead with 30 seconds left after George converted on an easy transition lay-up.
Valley nation would answer and regain the lead off Booker’s mid-range shot but George came back with a smooth pull-up jumper to take the lead again, 103-102 with 22 seconds left.
However, George would miss two crucial freethrows after he was fouled which gave the Suns some room to breathe.
Ayton then delivered the knockout blow after throwing down the game-winning alley-oop dunk. He finished with 24 huge points and 14 rebounds.
Despite the losing effort, George top-scored the Clippers with 26 backstopped by Reggie Jackson’s 19 points.
