Phoenix Suns vs. Los Angeles Clippers Game 2 playoff rewind

The Phoenix Suns defeated the Los Angeles Clippers at home, 123-109, in Game 2 on Tuesday. Phoenix's victory evens their first-round playoffs series, 1-1.

The Suns' Devin Booker (14-of-22) led all scorers with 38 points, and Kevin Durant scored 25. Deandre Ayton had the game's only double-double as he had 14 points and a game high 13 rebounds.

Clippers' Kawhi Leonard had his team high 31 points and added eight rebounds and seven assists. His teammate Russell Westbrook had 28 points.

They face each other in Game 3 on Thursday in L.A.

Chris Paul hits deep midrange jumpshot after nursing right hand

The Suns are cruising on a 121-109 lead over the Clippers with two minutes left to play.

Chris Paul (16 points, eight assists) drained a 19-foot jumper near the top of the key before Los Angeles called timeout.

But shortly before he hit that jumpshot, Paul visibly grabbed his right hand twice after he deflected a pass friom Russell Westbrook, and Torrey Craig caught the loose ball in the air.

Paul had a right thumb injury during his first season with the Suns two years ago when they made their finals run. That made him missed a significant amount of time.

Suns fans scream taunt Westbrook after he misses dunk

Phoenix fans couldn't wait for this chant at Russell Westbrook in Game 2.

At 9:12 in the fourth quarter, the Clippers guard and former MVP breezed by Devin Booker and missed a wide open dunk as Los Angeles trailed 100-89.

The Footprint Center crowd joyously erupted and began chanting "WESTBRICK! WESTBRICK!"

Westbrook's disdain for people calling him that is well documented after he publicly called it out in March 21 when he was with the L.A. Lakers last season.

He also had a heated confrontation with a fan at Footprint Center during Game 1 after a fan called him the the name. The NBA is investigating that incident.

Chris Paul sparks Suns' 6-0 run to open 4th quarter

The Clippers called timeout to try stifling the Suns, which have found their offensive flow.

Phoenix is ahead 98-87, its biggest lead of the night.

Chris Paul (12 points, six assists, three rebounds) has scored Phoenix's last two field goals, and backup Bismack Biyombo hit a jump-hook in the paint during this run.

Suns enter 4th leading by 5, Booker's takeover continues

Phoenix is up, 92-87, over Los Angeles.

Devin Booker is getting the ball and his teammates are getting out of the way as he's cooking the Clippers.

He scored 18 of his 31 points in the third, including four of their last five field goals with a stepback isolation 3 from the top of the key.

Craig on fire from 3

Suns starting small forward Torrey Craig is shooting unconscious from the perimeter.

His 15 points are all from his five makes out of seven attempts from 3.

Suns coach Monty Williams decision to start Torrey Craig again for Game 2 is paying off for the Suns offense. It was supposed to be to match for Craig's 6-foot-7, 220-pound frameagainst Clippers' top scorer and physical Kawhi Leonard. But Craig is doing more than that with his shooting touch for a game high from deep.

Suns are up 82-77 with 3:12 left in the third quarter.

Booker takes charge as Suns take 2nd half lead

The Suns have their largest lead by 10 at 8:23 left in the third quarter, up 71-61.

Phoenix was sparked by Devin Booker as the Suns jumped out to 65-59 lead at 10:16. The Clippers called their second timeout of the game to stop Phoenix's 6-0 run, led by Booker and Chris Paul.

Booker (20 points) made a driving floater assisted by Torrey Craig for the second half's first field goal, followed by Chris Paul's midrange pull-up jumper. Then Booker made a steal near half-court as he stripped Clippers big Ivica Zubac.

Kawhi Leonard (18 points) hit the Clippers' first field goal of the second half at 9:57, then Booker hit his second 3 to push the lead to 68-61. Torrey Craig (12 points) drained his second from deep to put the Suns up by 10.

That's a 21-point swing from 2:24 left in the first half.

Booker's 3-point buzzer beater ties game at halftime

The Footprint Center crowd erupted as Devin Booker (13 points, 4-of-8 FG) hit a left wing 3 with 0.8 left on the clock before the intermission.

That tied the game at 59-59 to cap off the Suns' 11-2 run in the half's final 2:24.

The Clipper's Russell Westbrook is the game's leading scorer with 17, and his teammate Kawhi Leonard has 16.

Westbrook's former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate and Suns' 13-time All-Star Kevin Durant has his team high 16.

The Los Angeles bench, one of the NBA's best this season, has been producing strong numbers, outscoring Phoenix's second unit, 16-5, and outrebounding them, 10-1.

Suns down by 9 as Clippers take 1st timeout shortly before halftime

Phoenix trails L.A., 57-48, at 2:24 left in the first half.

Kevin Durant (12 points, 6-of-11 FG) has found his stroke again in the past few Suns possession as he's tied Deandre Ayton for the team's scoring high.

But Clippers' Russell Westbrook has been unstoppable on drive and from outside as he leads all scorers with 17 on 6-of-9 shooting and hit 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.

Phoenix was down by its biggest deficit 12 points with five minutes remaining in the second quarter.

Ayton keeping Suns in the game amid team's struggles in 2nd quarter

The Clippers have their biggest lead, 42-32, as the Suns call their second timeout this game at 7:20 in the second quarter.

But Deandre Ayton is shooting well from midrange and close to the rim, scoring eight of his 10 points this period. He's Phoenix's top rebounder with five as the Suns are being outworked on the glass, 18-12, including 7-1 on the offensive boards.

Suns trail Clippers at end of 1st quarter, 29-24

The Suns had a better first quarter offensively then they did in Game 1 when they trailed the Clippers 30-18.

Phoenix is shooting 10-of-21, including 2-of-7 from deep. Kevin Durant is Phoenix's top scorer thus far with six points (3-of-8 FG).

Kawhi Leonard is the Clippers' leading scorer with eight on 3-of-6 shooting.

Official Scott Foster panned by Suns crowd early in first quarter

Scott Foster has a reputation for making questionable calls, especially in playoff games Chris Paul has played in throughout his 18-year career.

That didn't cease shortly before 3:30 mark in the opening period.

Devin Booker missed a 3, then stole the ball on a pass intended for Clippers' Terance Mann on the Suns' end of the floor and went up for a layup.

Foster called Torrey Craig for a loose ball foul on Booker's shot, which made Booker and Craig throw their hands up looking confused. As Craig shook his head and quickly throw his hand in down disgusted by the call, Foster gave him technical foul and the crowd became enraged.

The Suns fans repeatedly chanted, "REF YOU SUCK!" Then Kawhi Leonard hit the tech foul shot, and Josh Okogie was substituted for Craig as the Clippers went up 19-17.

Suns off to hot shooting start, some early mistakes

The Suns are shooting a stellar 5-of-8 from the field, but committed four turnovers before they called the game's first timeout.

They are down 13-11 at 6:56.

Kevin Durant didn't waste any time to aggressively find his shooting rhythm from the opening tip. Then Torrey Craig hit a left corner 3 to go up 5-0.

Then the Clippers came back to match the Suns' physicality in the paint and quick shooting. Eric Gordon hit two 3s and Russell Westbrook hit one from deep and another strong contested driving layup against Devin Booker.

Starting lineups for Suns vs. Clippers Game 2

Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams is rolling with Torrey Craig as the team's starting small forward for the second straight game in this series. Craig joins their other forward Kevin Durant, Deandre Ayton in the middle, Devin Booker and Chris Paul is the Suns' starting backcourt.

The Los Angeles Clippers starters are forwards Kawhi Leonard and Nicolas Batum, center Ivica Zubac, as well as guards Eric Gordon and Russell Westbrook.

Suns backup point guard Cameron Payne is out again for Game 2 from lower back soreness, and Clippers' second-best scorer Paul George is out because of his sprained right knee.

The Game 2 officials are Scott Foster, Eric Lewis, JB DeRosa, and Scott Twardoski is the alternate.

Williams said to the media after the Suns' Game 1 loss he started the 6-foot-7 Craig instead of the 6-foot-3 Josh Okogie, who started for all of Durant's eight appearances for Phoenix before this series, because he wanted to have more size to match up against Leonard.

Craig had a playoff career high 22 points in Game 1, and Leonard had a game high 38.

How to watch Game 2 of Suns vs. Clippers NBA Playoffs series

The Suns vs. Clippers game Tuesday can be seen on TNT, Bally Sports Arizona and Bally Sports SoCal.

Game 3 is scheduled for Thursday in Los Angeles and Game 4 on Saturday in Los Angeles.

You can see the complete schedule for the Suns vs. Clippers NBA Playoffs series here.

Suns vs. Clippers Game 2 prediction

USA TODAY Sports' Sportsbook Wire has the Suns winning the game over the Clippers on Tuesday, 116-110 in its prediction for Game 2 of the NBA Playoffs series.

You can read its breakdown of the game, as well as other picks and predictions for the contest here.

Suns vs. Clippers Game 2 odds

The Suns are an 8.5-point favorite over the Clippers, according to Tipico Sportsbook.

Phoenix is -360 on the moneyline, while Los Angeles is +300.

The over/under for the game is set at 227.5 points.

You can see more odds for the Suns vs. Clippers NBA Playoffs series here.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Suns vs. Los Angeles Clippers playoff Game 2 updates, score