Down 35-4, drop to 7th in West, chillin'? Takeaways from Suns' inexcusable loss to Clippers

The Phoenix Suns were in a must-win situation to keep the sixth seed in the West, but didn't play like it Tuesday against the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Suns trailed, 37-10, after the first quarter after being down by as many as 31 points in that opening quarter of their 105-92 loss before a sellout crowd of 17,071 at Footprint Center.

They trailed by as many as 37 points in the second quarter, falling behind 66-33 at halftime. The Suns rallied to cut the ridiculous Clippers lead to seven with 6:46 left in the game, but lost to fall to seventh in the West, which would put them in the play-in. The Pelicans moved up to sixth after winning at Portland.

The Suns got help from Oklahoma City as the Thunder topped the Kings (45-34), who remain eighth in the West. Phoenix plays the Kings this week with the season series tied 2-2.

The Clippers (51-28) were without Kawhi Leonard (knee) and James Harden (foot), but still jumped out to a juggernaut lead over Phoenix (46-33) in its own building.

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Paul George scored 13 points of his game-high 23 points in the first quarter in outscoring the Suns by himself in through the game's opening 12 minutes. The Clippers shot 4-of-5 from 3 in the quarter, with George going 3-of-3 while the Suns went 0-for-4 in shooting an atrocious 2-of-19 from the field in the quarter.

Drew Eubanks, who started for the injured Jusuf Nurkic (ankle) had Phoenix's two made field goals in the quarter. At one point, Eubanks had all their points when the Suns were down 35-4. Coach Frank Vogel called three timeouts with the first being at the 7:58 mark when the Suns trailed 17-5 to the 4:18 mark when they fell further behind at 28-4.

The fans booed more and more after each timeout as it was fan appreciation night.

Wow. Here are takeaways from Tuesday's what-in-the-world loss as the Suns face the Clippers again Wednesday in Los Angeles in the second of a home-away back-to-back.

This is how bad it got

Eubanks scored his second basket with 6:26 left in the first quarter. The Suns didn't score again until Devin Booker hit two free throws with 1:08 remaining in the quarter.

How does a team with Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal find itself down 35-4?

OK. One, they missed shots. Booker and Durant each shot 0-for-5 from the field in the first quarter. Booker scored four points while Durant didn't score. Beal accounted for the two remaining Phoenix points on free throws.

Durant finished with 21 points on 8-of-22 shooting while Booker finished with 12 points on an what-the-hell 1-of-11 shooting, evoking memories of the Game 7 loss to Dallas in the 2022 Western Conference semifinals.

This performance, considering what was at stake, is inexcusable.

After the game, Vogel was short with his answers, which is fine and understandable, but to blame it on just not making shots instead of pointing out how the Suns didn't have the energy at the start and were playing half-speed while the Clippers were sharp is a problem that must be seriously addressed.

Vogel didn't want to reveal what he told the team. Booker said the team is "chillin'" when asked about the frustration level of the team and then later explained his calm demeanor by saying he's been on a team that had the NBA's best record in the 2021-22 Suns and that the playoffs are the only thing that matters.

OK, the postseason is what matters most, but the Suns looked flat and by the way, will wind up starting the postseason in the play-in if this continues.

Physicality Phoenix's kryptonite?

On Sunday, the Pelicans turned up the physicality against the Suns, but Vogel said they fouled Booker all game. He has repeatedly taken aim at the officiating to explain why Durant or Booker had off-shooting nights.

Out of all his responses Tuesday night, saying the Suns lacked "offensive toughness" is another way of saying they're not matching the physicality of the opponent.

The Pelicans were in their face Sunday. The Clippers followed suit Tuesday. Vogel said this has been a problem in recent games, but part of the problem is the offense becomes stagnant and there's little to no ball movement.

Eric Gordon addressed this by saying the Suns have to, one, play fast, and two, be in attack mode and make quick decisions. He's definitely on to something but with the Suns wanting to take more 3s, the rim attacks are often drive and kick, but don't look to score.

Tuesday night, the 3s weren't falling. They went 8-of-35 with Grayson Allen, the league's top 3-point shooter in terms of percentage, going 0-of-8 after an 0-for-5 effort in the fourth quarter of Sunday's loss.

Vogel thinks Allen is just going through a tough patch. Could be his hip flaring up. Whatever it is, the Suns can't have that from someone who is going to take a ton of 3s at this point in the season.

Going small, how will they respond?

The Suns started Royce O'Neale instead of Eubanks to begin the second half by going small, a move that has been their save-the-day lineup. It definitely got the Suns back into the game, but will the Suns open with this lineup Wednesday or go back to Eubanks to start the game if Nurkic can't play with the ankle injury?

Could Thaddeus Young get more minutes? Played only eight on Tuesday. Bol saw action at the five, but Ivica Zubac took immediate advantage of the thin 7-footer with a quick power duck in, an easy dunk.

The Suns have responded to bad losses with quality wins this season. Lose to Spurs, beat defending NBA champion Denver. Fall to OKC, beat New Orleans.

Don't let Tuesday's final score fool you. This was a very bad loss, but the Suns have a chance to make amends and hope New Orleans slips up in its final three games at Sacramento, Golden State and home against the Lakers.

O'Neale having words with Clippers sixth man Norman Powell after taking an elbow to the head and Powell landing on top of him was the fight the Suns lacked in the first half.

Remember, Beal said he felt the Pelicans had more fight at the end of Sunday's game. Curious to see if the Suns respond with some attitude from the start, not when the late comeback is starting to gain some life.

New Orleans' next three opponents need wins to avoid, say, the 9 or 10 spot in the West. The Lakers (45-35) are ninth in the West, 1.5 games behind the Suns with just two left, but have the tiebreaker over Phoenix.

The Kings are a game behind Phoenix in the eighth slot while the Warriors (44-35) are 10th, two games behind the Suns, but don't have the tiebreaker over them.

Phoenix went from controlling its destiny after winning at New Orleans to needing help to avoid the play-in. It can change that quickly, especially for a team that has shown all season the most consistent thing about them is being inconsistent.

Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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