Summary: Barcelona - Real Madrid 82:97 (Sport1)
Kawhi Leonard had a great shooting night, Russell Westbrook had a poor shooting night, but both finished as the scorers of the game tonight (Sunday), in which the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Phoenix Suns 110:115 in the playoff series opener.
Leonard scored 38 points, including two crucial 3-pointers, while Westbrook made a significant contribution in all areas except shooting.
The veteran guard shot just 3-of-19 from the field, but finished with 9 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals.
"My whole career, I pride myself every season on doing everything on the court," Westbrook said.
"Whatever it takes for me to win the game, I'll do it."
The series has started.
Morning (Photo: Reuters)
That's exactly what happened in the last 30 seconds.
Westbrook hit two free throws with 17.7 seconds left to give his team a three-point lead, then blocked Devin Booker's layup attempt on the other end to give the Clippers the ball with 10.1 seconds left.
The Suns trailed 109:103 with 1:33 left but scored the next five points.
The Clippers were able to grab some offensive rebounds on the ensuing possession before Westbrook hit his critical free throws.
"Making decisive moves, touching balls, steals, offensive rebounding, getting us into rhythm and order - that's playoff basketball," Leonard said of Russ.
"You might not have the best shooting night, but you have to impact the game in some way and he did that tonight."
Coach Tyronn Lue said of Westbrook: "I told him during the game, 'Your points are not what's important, don't be frustrated that you miss, you contribute much more to us than points to the game. Don't let it affect your game.'"
Van, the smiling Westbrook said at the end: "I'll do whatever they ask of me, I'm just grateful that coach Ty Luo and his team believe in me."
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Westbrook (Photo: GettyImages, Christian Petersen)
Kevin Durant's mother looks at her disappointed son (Photo: Reuters)
On the other hand, the disappointing Phoenix fell behind 30:18 after the first quarter.
The Suns only shot 31.8% from the field in the first quarter and Kevin Durant was scoreless.
Durant ended up with 27 points, but the Suns lost for the first time this season with him on the floor.
As you know, in February Phoenix added the star who won the MVP of the NBA Finals series, injuries limited him to only eight games, in all of which Phoenix won.
until tonight
"We'd definitely like to get off to better starts, but sometimes that happens," Durant said.
"It all depends on how you come back from it."
Devin Booker added 26 points for Phoenix, which will try to avoid falling to a 2-0 deficit at home on Tuesday.
"We understand it's not going to be easy," Booker said.
"From here it gets harder. When I think about my first playoff, then every loss is the worst thing ever, and with every win you feel like you're going to beat the rest. That's how the playoffs go."
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