Devin Booker pours in 47 as Phoenix Suns oust Los Angeles Clippers

DENVER – Devin Booker’s warning to his Phoenix Suns teammates on Tuesday night was simple – “don’t play with your food” and finish the game as soon as possible.

The guard scored 47 points, including 25 in the third quarter, as the Suns roared back from a double-digit, second-half deficit and advanced to the National Basketball Association (NBA) Western Conference semi-finals with a 136-130 series-clinching victory over the visiting Los Angeles Clippers.

Kevin Durant scored 31 points and Deandre Ayton added 21 points and 11 rebounds for the fourth-seeded Suns, who recovered from a Game 1 defeat to roll through the remainder of the best-of-seven series by winning the next four contests. Phoenix will face top seeds Denver Nuggets in the second round, which starts on Saturday in Denver.

“It’s a good lesson for us moving forward. Don’t play with your food. Finish out as strong as you can. Keep playing all the way until the whistle blows,” Booker said of the Suns having to fight back to win.

Durant was impressed by Booker’s leadership on the court, and in particular his third quarter.

“It was spiritual. I don’t scream too much in games as I get older, but when he hit that three at the top of the key, I felt that energy and I know everyone in the crowd felt it. We feed off his aggression,” the forward said.

Norman Powell scored 27 points and Ivica Zubac had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the short-handed Clippers, who played without Paul George (knee) the entire series and lost Kawhi Leonard (knee) following Game 2.

Mason Plumlee had 20 points and Russell Westbrook added 14 for the Clippers, who were considered title contenders at the start of the season but lacked consistency as George and Leonard struggled with injuries.

Also in the Western Conference, Nikola Jokic had 28 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists to lead the Nuggets past the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves 112-109, closing out their series 4-1 as well.

Jamal Murray scored a game-high 35 points to help the top seeds head to the semi-finals for the fourth time in five seasons.

Some home fans were late into the Ball Arena because of a rainstorm that slowed traffic into Denver and coach Michael Malone felt that the lack of support affected the game in the early stage.

“I looked up, there’s a lot of empty seats and (my) coaches said, well, the weather’s really bad. The way we played that first quarter was like a regular-season game,” he said after a 29-22 start in the first period.

“And then slowly but surely, I felt Jamal made a couple of shots. And Jamal plays with so much emotion. And he got our team going. Jamal just wouldn’t quit, you know? And he made big shot after big shot.”

Anthony Edwards put up 29 points, Karl-Anthony Towns chalked up 26 points and 11 rebounds and Rudy Gobert had 16 points and 15 rebounds for the Timberwolves. REUTERS