LOS ANGELES -- — Neither team could make a shot. The ball bounced frantically on and around the rim, but rarely went in.
In the timeout, Sun only spoke of defense. The Clippers deliberately missed the free throw, in a desperate attempt to maintain possession and fire a 3-pointer.
In the end, former Clipper Chris Paul did a clutch free throw that night when everyone was missing.
Devin Booker scored 25 points before being fouled out in the last minute and Phoenix escaped to take a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference Finals on Saturday night with an 84-80 victory.
He could advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1993 with a Monday night win in Phoenix.
"We're not looking very far ahead," Booker said.
The Clippers rallied from a 0–2 deficit to win against Dallas and Utah and reached the West Finals for the first time in franchise history.
"It's going to be harder and harder, but it has to be one game at a time," said Paul George. "Play as much as you can in Game 5."
The Clippers struggled with poor shooting in all but the third quarter, when they made 10 of 17 shots to pull within three points. They got inside a four-time in the fourth, but could never take the lead in front of a sell-out crowd of 18,222, which hung on every painful lapse.
"It was a crazy, emotional game," Paul said.
LA scored 32% (27 out of 83) for the game; Phoenix was barely better at 36% (31 out of 86). The Clippers, who led the league in 3-point shooting during the regular season, made five; The sun hit four.
"It was a dull celebration," said Sons coach Monty Williams. "It certainly wasn't Crime 101."
"We had a chance to take the lead on 12 properties and we couldn't do that. It won't fall for us," said Clippers coach Tyrone Lew.
Deandre Ayton added 19 points and a career playoff-high 22 rebounds, and Paul had 18 points and seven assists.
George had 23 points, 16 rebounds and six assists and 1 second left before fouling out. Reggie Jackson added 20 points for the Clippers. Ivica Zubac had 13 points and 14 rebounds.
The Clippers successfully challenged a call in the last minute that resulted in Booker's sixth foul. Terrence Mann scored and they went 79-76.
The final 13 seconds turned into a free-throw shooting contest, with Sans Fouling trying to keep the Clippers away from the 3-point line. Paul made a 5 out of 6. The shear was 4 out of 8.
With injured Kawhi Leonard again in a suit, the Clippers dismissed the Suns 30-19 in the third after trailing 16 in the first half.
Both teams' offense collapsed in the fourth, when the Suns bowled out the Clippers 15-14.
"It was tough because we struggled all the way to make it into a one-point game, and we seemed to generally make ends meet all season and they weren't falling," Mann said. "If we had been hitting those shots the game could easily have been completely different."
With a technical to debate the call, Booker picked up his fourth foul at the start of the fourth. This put George on the line and he made 2 out of 3, missing the last who would have tied the game for the first time. Instead, the shear trailed off 71-70.
It remained like this for minutes, with snow between the two teams.
"At that point, you're only relying on your defense and mental stamina," Williams said.
"You just try to play through it and have a breakthrough," George said.
Paul tosses a gully-up pass that Ayton slammed and Booker hit a jumper, keeping the Suns 75-72 ahead.
Oddly, the shots either went out for both teams or hit the rim and bounced, leading to a frantic scramble for loose balls.
"It was a skirmish under the basket with the ball bouncing all over the place," Williams said.
Paul ran for seven straight points at the start of the third, dropping his old team into a 13-point hole.
But from there the Clippers put the Suns 20-10 ahead and trailed 69-66 to reach fourth. Phoenix went without a field goal in the final few minutes of the third, when Booker made 4 of 6 free throws.
The Clippers scored 13 off 44 in the first half. Neither of them could make it past: George and Jackson were 3 out of 11 and Marcus Morris was 1 in 6.
Phoenix took a 14-2 and 20-9 lead in the first quarter. The Clippers made just one of their first seven shots - a dunk by Zuback. Seven of George's 11 points in the half came from 3-pointers and four free throws.
Booker committed three fouls in the first half, two of which occurred within minutes of each other in the second quarter. At that time, the Sun was above 16.
Tip-ins
Sons: Abdel Nader saw his first action of the series after being dismissed with a rehab on his right knee. He didn't score in five minutes.
Clippers: George scored his 430th point of the playoffs in the first quarter, giving him a career-high total for points in a single postseason.
not so masked man
Since breaking his nose in a head-on collision with Patrick Beverly in Game 2, Booker had removed the clear plastic mask after missing a lay-up.
"You don't realize how much you hit the face until you take it off," he said, adding that he's not used to playing with it.
Booker said he's not sure whether he'll wear it in Game 5.
Ayton was seen in the arena wearing Booker's T-shirt and his nose bandaged.
"He said, 'I was hiding this from you on the bus,'" Booker said.
Ayton said, "My guy messed everything up. Just a little message."
do as i do
Paul said he was thinking of his 12-year-old son, Chris, when he went to fourth.
"I talk to my son about the importance of doing free throws all the time," he said. "How do I tell her to be ready if I don't?"