Deandre Ayton hit an alley-oop pass from Jae Crowder with 0.7 seconds remaining and gave the Phoenix Suns a thrilling 104-103 victory Tuesday over the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 2 of the Conference Finals. West.
The Suns were one down with 0.9 seconds to go when Crowder made a high pass on a play along the line. Ayton took a big leap and shoved the ball into the net over Ivica Zubac, to the enthusiasm and disbelief of the crowd at the Phoenix Suns Arena.
The referees spent almost a minute reviewing the play before concluding that the basket was valid. The Clippers failed to shoot in the final 7 tenths of a second.
The Suns now have a 2-0 lead in the series, heading to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Thursday night. The Clippers will play 2-0 against for the third time in these playoffs, in which they beat the Mavericks and Jazz.
The Crowder-Ayton connection thwarted a Clippers’ streak led by Paul George, who added 26 points.
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