These are intense days for the Crypto Stadium, the sports epicenter of Los Angeles.
The arena hosts the Lakers and Clippers in their respective NBA playoff series this weekend.
In the NHL, the ice hockey league, the Kings are playing the series against the Edmonton Oilers here.
This Saturday morning, at least for a few hours, the temple was the territory of the Clippers, the second basketball team in the city.
Most of the team's supporters wore the jerseys of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, the two pillars of the franchise.
Both were absent due to injury.
Not even a great performance from Russell Westbrook prevented the team from falling to the Phoenix Suns, who are one win away from ending the series.
This Saturday they won 112-100.
The Clippers case is reminiscent of one of the platitudes of the playoffs.
You can't get very far without a healthy team.
So a couple of knee sprains have the team of millionaire Steve Ballmer, one of the most charismatic owners in the NBA, on the ropes.
The Suns, on the other hand, showed the power of a dressing room at 100%.
Its stars performed what was expected of them, with Kevin Durant, who is still getting used to the Arizona team (he arrived at the beginning of March), closed the day with 31 points and eleven rebounds.
It is the first game of the playoffs that he finished with more than his teammate Devin Booker, who scored 30, eleven of them in the first quarter, and had seven assists.
Chris Paul closed out the day with a great performance.
The 37-year-old point guard started the game with a certain lethargy, with some Suns that had not quite settled in a game in which the Clippers reinforced their defense.
At the end of the first quarter, the locals prevailed 30-23 over their rivals, who closed the season in fourth place in the Western conference, one above the Clippers.
But as they warmed up, Phoenix took off.
CP3 scored 12 of his 19 points in the last quarter.
Paul, Booker and Durant each hit three 3-pointers.
But no one on the court got the better of Russell Westbrook.
The player, at 34 years old, is the only one who remains local in the Crypto arena despite having changed teams in the season.
He didn't fit in with LeBron's Lakers, but this Saturday he was the Clippers' man with 37 points and six rebounds in 44 minutes.
Westbrook has erased the fame that many have charged him with, as an irregular star that cannot be trusted.
He has become the guide for the franchise in the absence of George and Leonard.
This afternoon he has achieved his best game of the 73 he has played this season, including those he has played for the Clippers, where he arrived in February.
Guard Norman Powell was second in the tally for the hosts with 14 points (despite making just 4 of 15 shots inside the box).
Terance Mann contributed 13.
After the defeat, the Crypto workers quickly dismantled the stave that had a drawing that said Los Angeles in the center.
Dozens of men took the wood from the Clippers in pieces.
Blue then gave way to the most successful yellow in the city.
Within minutes, the 19,000-capacity stadium was covered in the Lakers' winning story.
In Los Angeles, sports cannot wait.
Philadelphia sweeps the Nets
Philadelphia became the first NBA team to qualify for the next phase this Saturday.
The 76ers have swept the Brooklyn Nets 4-0 in the series after an away victory (96-88).
The Sixers, third in the East, strung together their fourth win without Joel Embiid, who sprained his right knee in the previous game.
With the star absent, Tobias Harris and James Harden guided the team to the next stage, where they await the Celtics' winner against Atlanta (Boston leads 2-1).
Harris scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while La Barba added 17 points and eleven assists.
Philadelphia has not ruled out, for the moment, that the Cameroonian giant is ready for the next game.
Doc Rivers, the Philadelphia coach,
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