Phoenix Suns vs. Los Angeles Clippers Game 3 Prediction, Playoff Odds

Jordan Ramsay | Updated Jun 23, 2021

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Deandre Ayton's literal last-second slam on Tuesday gave Phoenix a 2-0 lead in this series, with Game 3 set to go in L.A.

Phoenix
51-21
AT
June 24, 2021, 9:00 PM ET
Staples Center
L.A. Clippers
47-25
Pointspread -1.5 -115
Moneyline -120
Over / Under o +222

60%

Betting Action

40%

Matchup Odds
Pointspread +1.5 -105
Moneyline +100
Over / Under u +222

60%

Betting Action

40%

Matchup Odds

The Phoenix Suns are looking more and more like the Goliath of these playoffs.  Their ninth straight win on Tuesday, a 104-103 decision, gave them a 2-0 series lead over the L.A. Clippers and a big swing of momentum.  Game 3 is set for Thursday night in L.A., where the Suns will look to put the Clippers in an 0-3, something no team in NBA history has ever come back from.

L.A. is a 1-point favourite to win on the NBA odds, with a total of 218.5.

Suns vs. Clippers NBA Playoff Odds

This Clippers team is too good to trail 0-3 in a series and Sports Interaction bettors know it.  Almost 90 per cent of action is taking L.A. in Game 3.  The consensus is also fairly high on the total, as 76 per cent of bettors are going with the Under 218.5.  In five combined games between these teams in the regular season and playoffs, there has been two Overs and three Unders.  Game 1 of this series went Over, while Game 2 went Under.

Phoenix has been the best team in the playoffs this year.  They’re 9-0 straight up in their last nine games overall and 6-1 SU in their last seven road games.  The Suns are now -1000 favourites to win the series and they’re tied at +110 with the Milwaukee Bucks for the best NBA Championship odds.

The Clippers will be thankful to get back to the Staples Center for Game 3.  They’ve been dominant in L.A., going 13-1 SU in their last 14 home games against Phoenix.  L.A. has covered the spread in five of their last six games overall and hit the Over in five of their last seven.  They’re +600 underdogs to win the series and they’re +1200 to win the NBA Championship.

Phoenix Suns

It’s not often that the game-winning shot in the final seconds is an alley-oop dunk, but that’s exactly what happened with Deandre Ayton‘s last second slam on Tuesday. Ayton was huge in Game 2 and could be the difference-maker as this series goes on, especially with Chris Paul out of the lineup.  After 20 points and two assists in Game 1, Ayton finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds on 12-for-25 shooting from the field on Tuesday.  It originally looking like Paul could be out of the lineup all series, but Phoenix is now reportedly optimistic he could return as early as Game 3.  Paul’s been in the NBA’s COVID health and safety protocols since June 16.

Ayton wasn’t the only star for the Suns in Game 2, as five different players hit double-digit points.  Cameron Payne had a career game and he has proven throughout the playoffs that he is a valuable source of secondary scoring.  Payne had 11 points and 9 assists in Game 1, but produced much more in Game 2.  He had a game-high 29 points and his 16 points in the first half were the most points he’s ever scored in a half.

Devin Booker had an off-night by his standards, finishing with 20 points and shooting just 3-for-10 in the first half.  What Game 2 showed about this team, is their results aren’t dictated by one specific player.  Arguably the two best players on the team, Booker and Paul, didn’t do it for the Suns on Tuesday, every player stepped up.  This is a deep roster that is going to be tough to beat.

Los Angeles Clippers

It looked like Paul George might lead the Clippers to a late-game rally on Tuesday, but it wasn’t enough.  Paul was the only L.A. player dialed in and he finished with a team-high 26 points.  Trailing by six points in the fourth quarter, he brought the Clippers to within one point, scoring or assisting on 11 of their final 13 points.  Paul also hit a clutch late basket, but followed it up with two missed free-throws.

Believe it or not, there is a ray of hope for L.A.  They’re in pretty familiar territory, as they’ve lost the first two games of all three of their series’ this year.  The Clippers could also just as easily have tied the series on Tuesday.  They led with 0.9 seconds left and it took an unlikely literal last-second inbound and alley-oop to give Phoenix the game.

The Kawhi Leonard situation could make-or-break L.A.  Leonard hasn’t played since suffering a knee injury in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals.  There are rumours it could be a fairly significant ACL injury and Clippers sources reportedly don’t expect him back at all in this series.  The Clippers were already underdogs, but without Leonard it gets just that much harder.

NBA Playoff Prediction: Who Will Win Suns vs. Clippers?

NBA Predictions
SportsInteraction
  • PHO
  • -1.5 +1.5
  • LAC
Matchup NBA Odds