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The Western Conference first-round series between Kevin Durant and the Suns and Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers is tied 1-1 with it shifting to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Thursday night with the Suns as short favorites on the NBA odds.

Suns vs. Clippers, Game 3 | 2023 NBA Playoff Expert Analysis

How to Bet Phoenix at LA Clippers NBA Odds & TV Info

When: Thursday, 10:30 PM ETv
Where: Crypto.com Arena
TV: NBA TV
Stream: NBA.com, NBA TV app
Radio: Tunein.com
NBA Odds: Suns -2.5 (total 227)

Why Bet on Phoenix?

The Suns evened the series with a 123-109 home win in Game 2 on Tuesday. Kevin Durant provided 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting, adding six rebounds, five assists, a steal and two blocks. Durant was more confident with his shot in the Game 2 win. The Suns have had limited experience with a healthy starting five, and they looked much more in sync with increased involvement from the All-Star. Durant is averaging 29.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists over 157 playoff games.

Devin Booker had 38 points and nine assists. After failing to convert a three-pointer in the Game 1 loss, Booker’s perimeter game woke up Tuesday with four drained shots from downtown. Booker’s nine assists matched his second-highest total in the category this season.

“I feel like he’s an oversized point guard to be honest,” Durant said of Booker. “A guy that can initiate, make plays for others, quick getting to the rim, either hand — so he can do pretty much everything at that point guard position. So when he got it, we played a little faster. We got so many options with him shooting the 3, getting to the middy or the free-throw line. We gotta continue to explore all those options.”

Deandre Ayton notched had 14 points and 13 rebounds. Ayton got in foul trouble early, and the Suns looked like a different team while he was on the bench. His absence allowed the Clippers to get back into contention after building a double-digit lead, but he finally returned for six minutes in the fourth quarter as the Suns pulled away. Phoenix shot 64% from the midrange compared to the Clippers’ mark of 34.8%.

Point guard Chris Paul received an X-ray on his right hand following Game 2, but the results came back clean according to TNT’s Chris Haynes. Paul was seen during the fourth quarter grabbing at his shooting hand so clean X-rays will bring a sigh of relief from both the org and fans. CP3 finished with 16 points, eight assists and four rebounds in 38 minutes of action.

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MyBookie Betting Lines for the Game

Why Bet on LA Clippers?

Kawhi Leonard supplied 31 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals in Game 2. Leonard led his team in scoring and finished with at least 30 points, five rebounds and five dimes for the second time in as many games in the first-round series.

Russell Westbrook contributed 28 points, five rebounds and five assists. Westbrook was much better after sinking only 15.6 percent of his 19 attempts in Game 1. Westbrook was able to contain Chris Paul effectively, and when Westbrook slid to Devin Booker in the zone defense, he did all he could to keep Booker in check. Ivica Zubac had 12 points and 15 rebounds.

“Booker, KD and CP,” Clippers coach Ty Lue said, explaining why Phoenix shot a bonkers 58.8% for the game. “Thought they really did a good job of just controlling the game. In that second half and fourth quarter, they really took over. We tried to blitz (sending the big aggressively on pick-and-roll ball handlers), we tried to fire (early trap before the screen), we did a lot of different things.”

Overall in Game 2, the Suns made 21-of-29 midrange field goals; close to the same number of attempts, but a 72.4 percent efficiency rate. For perspective, the Washington Wizards led the NBA by making 72.0 percent of their field goals in the restricted area.

Leonard said it best when describing Phoenix’s midrange field goals: “They’re mid-range shooters. They’re great at it. It’s like layups for them.”

On the bright side for LA, the Suns only had seven offensive rebounds, with the Clippers outscoring Phoenix 21-15 on second-chance points. The Clippers outscored the Suns 28-13 from the free throw line, holding the Suns to 14 attempts. And after allowing 50 points in the paint in Game 1, the Suns only scored 38 points in the paint in Game 2.

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MyBookie Betting Lines for the Game

Game Trends

Suns are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
Suns are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 Thursday games.
Clippers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up loss.
Clippers are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games overall.
Suns are 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings in Los Angeles.