5 takeaways as Phoenix Suns snap five-game skid in Devin Booker's return

LOS ANGELES — Devin Booker ends his pregame routine the same.

Bounce ball off the floor for lob dunk.

When he stuck with that before Thursday night’s matchup against the Clippers after sitting the previous two games with left hamstring tightness — and after missing the first dunk attempt — that was a good sign.

Finishing in transition with a reverse dunk in the first half was an even better one.

Booker scored 14 points in his return to help Phoenix top Los Angeles, 111-95, at Crypto.com Arena and snap a season-long five-game skid.

"The hammy feels good," Booker said.

Mikal Bridges paced the Suns (17-12) with 27 points while Chris Paul (15 points, 13 assists), Jock Landale (15 points, 10 rebounds) and Josh Okogie (11 points, 11 rebounds) each posted double-doubles.

Terance Mann led the Clippers (17-14) with 22 points as Los Angeles had its three-game win streak snapped.

Ending a four-game road trip with a win, the Suns return home to face the Pelicans just days after losing consecutive games to them in New Orleans.

Here are five takeaways from Thursday’s win as Cameron Payne (right foot sprain) and Deandre Ayton (left ankle sprain) were sidelined after suffering injuries in Tuesday’s loss to the Rockets.

NBA: SCOREBOARD | STANDINGS | STATISTICS

Relocated the touch

Phoenix shot a season-low 32% at Houston, going 13-of-51 from 3 for 25.5%.

They weren’t nearly as cold Thursday.

The Suns connected on 46.3% of their shots against the Clippers, going 9-of-32 from 3.

Not much better from 3 Thursday, but they started faster starting with Bridges.

After going 4-of-24 from the field that included a 2-of-10 effort on 3s Tuesday, Bridges made his first four shots with two from distance Thursday. So he matched his makes from the last game in less than a half.

"He's a prideful player," Suns head coach Monty Williams said. "We needed a forklift to get his lip off the ground after the other night. He was so down about his performance, but more than that, he was down about how it affected the team. So he came into the gym (Wednesday) and went about his business as he normally does. He had a great deal of focus and attention on defense, but offensively, when he's shooting the ball like that, we're a pretty good team."

Like Booker and the rest of the Suns, Bridges got in his pregame work, too. Hit five in a row from deep.

Like Booker’s dunk, Bridges splashing 3 was a good sign, too.

"I think I hit five or six in a row in Houston (pregame), too," said Bridges, who connected on 11-of-18 from the field, going 2-of-5 from 3 Thursday. "I was just missing them (in Tuesday's game), but it felt good. Teammates found me. Felt good to make some shots."

Definitely a diehard

Don’t know who Pat Stacker is, but would’ve become an all-time GOAT fan had his prediction came true.

A Clippers season ticket holder, Stacker was recognized for being a “member of the game.”

The team put him on the jumbotron and let him speak.

Being a longtime fan, Stacker talked about his most memorable game was the Clippers coming back from 31 points down to win Game 2 of the first round in the old Oracle Arena in Oakland in 2019.

Then he predicted the Clippers were going to rally Thursday night and top the Suns.

Now that’s a die-hard fan.

Now back to reality.

The Clippers were down 27 as the half, trailed by as many as 31 in the second half, but they made it a little interesting to the point Booker, Bridges and Chris Paul each logged 35-plus minutes.

Those three should've been able to watch the entire fourth quarter from the bench, especially Booker since he was coming off missing two games with the hamstring.

Booker ended up going 6-of-22 from the field, going 1-of-9 on 3s. Rough night shoot, hardly had any rhythm, but he moved well after having hamstring tightness.

"I thought he had great energy," Williams said. "Defensively, that first group was locked in. The second group came in and they were locked in. He didn't make the shots that he's accustomed to making, but his energy and focus on the defensive side was there. I liked the shots he took. He just missed them. He's due for one of those explosions."

Okogie finding roles

Still, the Suns should've won by 25 against a very short-handed team, but the Clippers whittled Phoenix’s huge lead to 14 as Marcus Morris Sr. hit a 3 with 1:44 left in the third quarter.

Then Josh Okogie came out of nowhere with one-handed follow dunk.

Look out below.

That quieted the crowd a bit and began a 7-2 burst to end the quarter and give Phoenix a 89-70 lead going into the fourth.

Okogie started the season trying to find his way in his first season in Phoenix, but he was struggling to make shots and had turnover issues.

He’s improved in those areas, but has established himself as an offensive rebounder.

With associate head coach Kevin Young convincing Williams the importance of offensive rebounding, that has made Torrey Craig and Okogie more valuable. They can get on the offensive glass.

If Okogie can continue to find ways to score, hit one or two 3s, make plays and keep defending, he’ll continue to find minutes even when the Suns are full strength.

"I'm embracing it," he said. "For me, it's all about trying to grow each and every game and just showing I'm more than just out there playing hard. A lot of people see me and they say, 'Yeah, he's going to play hard, but I'm trying to show people can initiate offense, I can dribble, I can make plays, I can shoot. I can work off the dribble, I can attack the paint, and I can defend my position, other positions. Rebound. I'm like a Swiss army knife."

Williams likes defense, but creating offense without having play calls is big for him, too.

Okogie is doing both, and much more, right now.

Shorter handed

Injuries have been a huge part of the Clippers-Suns recent history.

That goes back to the 2021 Western Conference finals when Kawhi Leonard missed the entire series with a knee injury. The Suns took it in six, but the Clippers were without their best player.

So that narrative lingered all last season.

Leonard is now back, but he hasn’t played in back-to-back games. After scoring 19 points in Wednesday’s win over Minnesota, Leonard wasn’t expected to play Thursday — and didn’t.

And he wasn’t the only one watching.

Paul George (left knee soreness), Norman Powell (left groin strain) and Reggie Jackson (left Achilles inflammation), Luke Kennard (right calf soreness) and Ivica Zubac (left knee contusion) sat, too.

George, Kennard and Zubac all played Wednesday, too.

The Suns got Booker back, but are down Cam Johnson (knee), Duane Washington Jr. (hip), Ayton and Payne.

The Suns and Clippers came into the game 5-6 in the West. Can’t see them staying in those spots when the playoffs begin, but they may face each other in the postseason.

If so, need them both healthy to settle this once and for all. They play each other two more times in Phoenix with the first one Feb. 16 before the All-Star break and the second April 9 to end the regular season.

Doubt any key guys play in April, but that February matchup?

It’s not the second of a back-to-back for the Clippers.

Saturday night

The Pelicans are coming to Phoenix.

The same Pelicans who took two from Phoenix in New Orleans.

The same Pelicans with Zion Williamson, who went for 35 in each of the two wins with his most spectacular bucket being a 360 dunk the Suns didn’t appreciate and ignited verbal exchanges.

This could get very interesting at Footprint Center.

Ayton was doing pregame warmups, too, Thursday and seemed to have good movement. If Ayton returns for this one after what he said following Sunday’s overtime loss?

“I don’t care about no regular season game,” he said. “It don’t really count, and at the end of the day, my team and I, we’re working on our damn selves. We don’t have time for this extra s--t. We’re working on ourselves for the postseason. That’s it. Everybody wants to make this a thing about regular season. So be it. Go ahead.”

This will be the final regular season game between the two, too.

See you Saturday in Phoenix.

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

Support local journalism. Start your online subscription.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 5 takeaways as Suns snap five-game skid in Devin Booker's return