The Los Angeles Clippers will be looking to secure their first win at the newly-built Intuit Dome when they go head to head with the Phoenix Suns on Friday.
This will be the second meeting between the two sides within eight days, with the Suns claiming a close 116-113 victory in overtime when they met in the season curtain-raiser on October 26.
Match preview
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The Los Angeles Clippers were denied their first home-court win of the 2024-25 NBA regular season as they fell 106-105 against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.
It was back and forth in the first half, with the Trail Blazers claiming a close 54-50 half-time lead, but the Clippers refused to back down as they fought back to edge into a three-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Despite going into a seemingly comfortable eight-point lead in the final quarter, Los Angeles let go of the rope in the dying minutes, with Anfernee Simons scoring seven of the Trail Blazers' nine points on their final four possessions to hand them their second win of the campaign.
Nick Powell turned in another solid shift for Los Angeles, knocking down a game-high 30 points on 50% field goal, including 5-10 from 3-point range, as the Clippers' run of two back-to-back victories came to an end.
After falling 116-113 against the Phoenix Suns on opening night last Thursday, Tyronn Lue's men bounced back with a 109-104 victory against the Denver Nuggets before rolling past the Golden State Warriors 112-104 at the Chase Center on Monday.
Having suffered back-to-back home defeats against the Dallas Mavericks in games two and five of the Western Conference playoff first round last season, the Los Angeles Clippers have now lost four straight home games on home court and will be looking to end this run on Friday.
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Phoenix Suns, on the other hand, shot 46% from the field on Tuesday to end the Los Angeles Lakers' 100% record as they secured a 109-105 victory when the two sides locked horns at the Footprint Center.
The Lakers looked set to rise to the occasion in the nail-biting clash between two potential Western Conference finalists as they raced into an 18-point lead in the first quarter before the Suns came fighting back.
It remained back and forth, with the Suns trailing by seven points at the start of the fourth quarter, but a strong finish from Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, who scored a combined 63 points, helped the Suns fight back to secure a hard-fought victory
Four players finished with double figures for Phoenix, led by Booker's 33 and Durant's 30, but head coach Mike Budenholzer will be mostly impressive by his side's defensive display as they locked down LeBron James, restricting him to just 11 points as he barely extended his run of 1225 consecutive games scoring at least 10 points.
Coming off a solid pre-season, where they finished with a 3-2 record, it has been an impressive start to the campaign for the Suns, who have won three of their opening four matches, with last Saturday's 123-116 defeat against the Lakers at the Crypto.com Arena being the exception.
Phoenix's three wins have come against the Clippers, Dallas Mavericks and the Lakers, who are all strong contenders in the West, and this could be informative on what lies ahead as the Suns look to go all the way this season.
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Team News
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The Los Angeles Clippers will have to cope without floor general Kawhi Leonard, who continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines after sustaining a severe knee injury in April.
Clippers coach Lue has confirmed that the 35-year-old, who averaged 23.7 points last season, is expected to sit out multiple weeks of action.
Mo Bamba missed the game against the Portland Trail Blazers as he continues recovery from a knee injury and the former Philadelphia 76ers center is ruled out of Friday's clash.
As for the Phoenix Suns, 26-year-old Josh Okogie remains out of contention after picking up a hamstring injury in the pre-season clash against the Pistons on October 12.
Veteran guard Bradley Beal dropped 15 points in the win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday but the 31-year-old is questionable for the trip to the Intuit Dome after picking up an elbow injury.
Durant has knocked down 30+ points in each of the last three matches since dropping 25 in the opening-night victory over the Clippers, and the 35-year-old is currently the sixth leading scorer in the league with 29.0 points per game
Los Angeles Clippers possible starting 5:
Powell, Harden, Zubac, Jones, Mann
Phoenix Suns possible starting 5:
Booker, Jones, Nurkic, Dunn, Durant
We say: Phoenix Suns to win by 3+ points.
The Phoenix Suns have performed brilliantly in their tough run of games to start the campaign and will look to make it two wins from two against the Clippers, following their overtime triumph on opening night.
Meanwhile, the Clippers were on the receiving end of another home defeat against the Trail Blazers last time out, and while we expect them to put up a fight on Friday, we predict that the Phoenix will claim a close win at the Intuit Dome.
Joshua Ojele
