IVICA ZUBAC

Brandon Ingram scored 30 points and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the depleted Los Angeles Clippers 105-101 in a play-in and earn the West’s No. 8 seed for the playoffs.

Norman Powell scored 24 points after being out two months, Paul George added 19 points in three quarters to go over 15,000 in his career, and the Los Angeles Clippers edged the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns 113-109.

The Los Angeles Clippers completed a four-game season sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers with a 132-111 victory.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 28 points, Jrue Holiday added 27 and the Milwaukee Bucks pulled away in the second half to defeat the Los Angeles Clippers 137-113.

Reggie Jackson scored 25 points, including a driving layup with four seconds remaining, and the Los Angeles Clippers held off the Los Angeles Lakers 111-110.

Chris Paul had a triple-double with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists to help the short-handed Phoenix Suns beat the Los Angeles Clippers 106-89 on Thursday night.

Reggie Jackson hit a step-back jumper with 2.2 seconds remaining to give the Los Angeles Clippers a 106-104 victory over the Orlando Magic on Saturday.

Brandon Boston Jr. had career highs of 27 points and five 3-pointers, sparking the Los Angeles Clippers to a 114-111 victory over the Boston Celtics.

The Phoenix Suns are headed to the NBA Finals for the first time in 28 years, defeating the Los Angeles Clippers 130-103 to close out the Western Conference finals in six games.

The Los Angeles Clippers have been unflappable amid high stakes throughout these NBA playoffs.

Clippers Suns Basketball Los Angeles Clippers guard Paul George (13) passes as Phoenix Suns forward Cameron Johnson (23) looks on during the first half of game 5 of the NBA basketball Western Conference Finals, Monday, June 28, 2021, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York) (Matt York)PHOENIX — (AP) — Paul George had just wrapped up his brilliant night, scoring 41 points to keep the Los Angeles Clippers' season alive. “Bleep this and bleep that.”George set his playoff career high in scoring, Reggie Jackson added 23 and the feisty Clippers staved off elimination by beating the Phoenix Suns 116-102 on Monday night in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals. “It is just unacceptable the way we started the game,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. The Suns cut the advantage to 44-42 midway through the second but the Clippers rallied again to push ahead by 10.

Paul George scored 41 points, Reggie Jackson added 23 and the resilient Los Angeles Clippers staved off elimination by beating the Phoenix Suns 116-102 in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals.

Devin Booker scored 25 points before fouling out in the final minute, and the Phoenix Suns escaped with an 84-80 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers to take a decisive 3-1 lead in the Western Conference finals.

(Keith Birmingham/The Orange County Register via AP) (Keith Birmingham)LOS ANGELES — (AP) — The Los Angeles Clippers don’t have injured Kawhi Leonard on the court. Leonard watched with his family from a Staples Center suite Thursday night, when Paul George had 27 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists in a game-high 43 minutes of the Clippers' 106-92 victory. Leonard met up with his teammates at halftime, when they trailed by two. Leonard hasn't played since Game 4 of the second round against Utah because of a right knee sprain. Coach Tyronn Lue said Leonard won't play in Game 4 on Saturday night.

Suns Clippers Basketball Los Angeles Clippers guard Paul George, left, shoots as Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton defends during the second half in Game 3 of the NBA basketball Western Conference Finals Thursday, June 24, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) (Mark J. Terrill)LOS ANGELES — (AP) — Paul George scored 27 points and the Los Angeles Clippers pulled away in a dominant third quarter, beating newly returned Chris Paul and the Phoenix Suns 106-92 on Thursday night in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals. After missing two crucial free throws in a one-point loss in Game 2, Paul had 15 rebounds and eight assists and played a game-high 43 minutes. The former Clipper, who was booed heartily during intros, had 15 points and 12 assists, but was 5 of 19 from the field. Reggie Jackson added 23 points for the Clippers, and Ivica Zubac had 15 points and tied his career playoff high with 16 rebounds.

Paul George scored 27 points and the Los Angeles Clippers pulled away in a dominant third quarter, beating newly returned Chris Paul and the Phoenix Suns 106-92 in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals.

It's not simply the Los Angeles Clippers vs.

In almost any other situation, what Ayton did would have been a violation — offensive basket interference — and the shot shouldn't have counted. NBA Rule 11, Section I, Subsection f gives part of the answer. Such a play only works with the clock not running, or in NBA parlance, when the ball isn't “live." The NBA confirmed that it would be, and Triano kept the idea stashed in his mind for such a moment. “You cannot goaltend a ball that isn’t going to count.”___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2021 The Associated Press.

When Phoenix’s Deandre Ayton reached over the rim to dunk Jae Crowder’s pass for what became the winning points of the Suns’ 104-103 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, several players immediately argued that the play was illegal.

CORRECTION Clippers Suns Basketball CORRECTS TO SECOND HALF INSTEAD OF FIRST HALF - Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton, right, scores over Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac during the second half of Game 2 of the NBA basketball Western Conference Finals, Tuesday, June 22, 2021, in Phoenix. The Suns were down one with 0.9 seconds left when Crowder lofted a high pass on an out-of-bounds play on the baseline. A soaring Ayton came down the lane and stuffed it through the net over L.A.'s Ivica Zubac as the crowd roared in disbelief at Phoenix Suns Arena. George made a layup with 31 seconds left to give the Clippers a 101-100 lead for their first advantage since early in the third quarter. Suns guard Devin Booker responded with a jumper of his own with 27 seconds left.

Deandre Ayton jammed an alley-oop pass from Jae Crowder with 0.7 seconds left, giving the Phoenix Suns a thrilling 104-103 win over the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals.

Kawhi Leonard had 34 points and 12 rebounds, Paul George added 31 points and the Los Angeles Clippers got back into their second-round series against the Utah Jazz with a 132-106 victory in Game 3 on Saturday night.

Donovan Mitchell scored 37 points and the Utah Jazz forced nine straight misses down the stretch to outlast the Los Angeles Clippers 117-111 and take a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series.

Clippers Mavericks Basketball Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard dunks in the first half in Game 4 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers in Dallas, Sunday, May 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez) (Tony Gutierrez)DALLAS — (AP) — Kawhi Leonard and Paul George combined to carry Los Angeles on the road again, and the Clippers are back in control of their first-round series with Dallas. After entering the game shooting 51% from 3-point range in the series, the Mavericks were just 5 of 30 (17%). Behind 35 first-half points combined from Leonard and George, the Clippers built a 61-45 lead. Then LA scored the first eight points of the second half to get the lead beyond 20 for the first time and didn't look back.

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have combined to carry Los Angeles on the road again, and the Clippers are back in control of the first-round series with Dallas.

Russell Westbrook had more triple-doubles than almost any trio of NBA players, free-throw shooting was better than ever and 3-point shooting was more prolific than ever once again.

Paul George led seven players in double figures with 24 points and the Los Angeles Clippers routed a Lakers team minus LeBron James 118-94 to move into the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference playoff race.

Los Angeles Clippers guard Paul George (13) attempts a layup as Dallas Mavericks forward Maxi Kleber (42) defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, March 15, 2021, in Dallas. Leonard scored 22 points, Marcus Morris Sr. added 14 in a rare start and the Clippers beat the Dallas Mavericks 109-99 on Monday. The Clippers won for the second time in six games while Dallas lost for just the second time in its past seven. Paul George scored 15 as seven Clippers finished in double figures. Mavericks: C Dwight Powell didn't play because of an illness that coach Rick Carlisle said wasn't related to COVID-19.

Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden, left, shoots as Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)LOS ANGELES – James Harden scored 37 points and the Brooklyn Nets held off a furious fourth-quarter rally to edge the Los Angeles Clippers 112-108 on Sunday night for their season-best sixth victory in a row. The Nets wrapped up a 5-0 trip, beating Golden State, Sacramento, Phoenix, and both Los Angeles teams to complete their longest undefeated single trip in franchise history. “Winning six in a row, all it does is keep the world silent for a bit,” Kyrie Irving said. Irving scored 12 points — matching his total from the first half — to send the Nets into the fourth leading 89-79.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, right, is defended by Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)LOS ANGELES – After the Los Angeles Lakers got their championship rings, the Los Angeles Clippers gave a performance that showed this retooled team is determined to contend for its own jewelry several months from now. Paul George scored 26 of his 33 points in the second half, Kawhi Leonard added 26 points and the Los Angeles Clippers rallied past the Los Angeles Lakers on the NBA champions’ ring ceremony night for a 116-109 victory Tuesday. The Clippers beat the Lakers in the season opener for the second straight year while winning coach Tyronn Lue’s debut. Lakers: James believes he will be fine to play on Christmas, saying he'll get extensive treatment.

The never-say-die Nuggets pulled off another season-saving comeback — and, after rallying from 19 points down with 22 minutes remaining, they’ll see the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 7 on Tuesday night for a berth in the Western Conference finals. Nikola Jokic had 34 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists, and the Nuggets topped the Clippers 111-98 on Sunday to even their West semifinal series at three games apiece. They saved themselves again in Game 5 of this series, getting down by 16 before coming back to save the season again. Over the next 10 minutes, the Nuggets outscored the Clippers 30-8. SCHEDULES SETWith Denver's win, the Western Conference finals — Clippers or Nuggets vs. the Los Angeles Lakers — are now certain to start on Friday, with games every other day until someone wins the series.

Clippers coach Doc Rivers called a timeout to calm down the Clippers with 8:29 left and trailing 97-90. Denver was cruising along in the second quarter, leading by 12 points with 3:34 left before halftime, before the Clippers roared back. ... F Marcus Morris had 12 points. Nuggets: Denver outscored the Clippers by a 58-42 margin in points in the paint. He played a little more than 12 minutes in Game 1 and 15 minutes in Game 2.

Gary Harris and Paul Millsap each added 13 points to help Denver knot the series at a game apiece. Paul George scored 22 points for the Clippers, who got 15 from Ivica Zubac and endured a rare off night offensively from Kawhi Leonard. The Clippers trailed by 23 and got as close as five in the fourth quarter, but no closer. The Clippers' best run eventually came in the fourth, with George going on a personal 7-0 spurt to get the Clippers within 91-86 the smallest lead for the Nuggets since it was 7-2. It was the second-best scoring quarter in Nuggets NBA playoff history, after scoring 47 in the fourth against the Los Angeles Lakers on May 14, 1985.

Los Angeles began putting the ball in Leonards hands and he delivered with eight straight Clippers points before consecutive 3-pointers by Reggie Jackson pushed it to 105-89. TIP-INSClippers: Patrick Beverley had a pregame workout before sitting out for the fifth straight game with a left calf strain. Mavericks: Porzingis missed his third straight game with torn cartilage in his right knee. It was the first game Rivers attended in the bubble but hardly his first time watching his son play at Disney. I just kind of sat and watched the game, Rivers said.

Montrezl Harrell added 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers, who set a franchise record for points in a playoff game. Los Angeles can clinch the series on Thursday. Leonard scored 22 points and Paul George scored 18 to help Los Angeles take a 76-52 lead at halftime. TIP-INSMavericks: Doncic was issued a technical foul in the second quarter. ... Hardaway and Los Angeles' Marcus Morris were called for double technicals in the second quarter.

The Clippers took control with 13 straight points midway through the third quarter and barely let the Nuggets get back in it. Jerami Grant, who missed Denver's last game due to injury, led the Nuggets with 25 points. Clippers: Patrick Beverley and Montrezl Harrell have both returned to the NBA's bubble, although neither could play as yet. ... Ivica Zubac had 15 points and a team-high 12 rebounds for Los Angeles. Clippers: Play Oklahoma City on Friday.

Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker draws a foul from Los Angeles Clippers' Paul George, rear, during an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Kevin C. Cox/Pool Photo via AP)

The Suns improved to 3-0 in the bubble as they chase a playoff spot. Ricky Rubio missed a shot after that and Ivica Zubac got the rebound, but he threw a bad pass that Mikal Bridges stole to give the Suns another chance. He turned the other direction and shot as George was closing, then crashed to the court as his teammates surrounded him to celebrate the victory. After setting a franchise record by making 25 3-pointers in a win over New Orleans on Saturday, the Clippers managed just eight in the loss. Leonard led the Clippers with 27 points and George added 23.