Another weekend has come and gone, but it's not the end of the world. The Morning Dunk will cure what ails you with some NBA news and highlights from Sunday night to kick your week off right.
Pacers Have No Answer For Suns' Big 3
The Phoenix Suns are healthy and finding a rhythm offensively, which means big trouble for the rest of the Association.
Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and Devin Booker combined to score 91 points in a 117-110 victory over the visiting Indiana Pacers at the Footprint Center.
It was the second-straight game the Suns' superstar Big 3 combined to score exactly 91 points. The loss was also Indiana's second since acquiring Pascal Siakam from the Toronto Raptors, although it was without guard Tyrese Haliburton on this occasion.
Kevin Durant is the first Phoenix Sun to score 40 POINTS with ZERO Free Throw attempts!
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) January 22, 2024
40 PTS (18/25 FG) | 9 REB | 4 3PT | 3 BLKpic.twitter.com/H2Rf3E1UuI
The win marked Phoenix's fifth in a row SU, improving its overall record to 24-18 which is still only good enough for seventh in the Western Conference. A seven-point margin of victory just barely covered the 5.5-point spread the Suns had as favorites over Indiana. It's the seventh time in 19 games Phoenix has covered.
Clippers' Miraculous Runs Breaks Nets' Hearts
It wasn't a field goal going wide right which devastated Brooklyn Nets faithful on Sunday.
Trailing by 11 points with 5:33 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Los Angeles Clippers went on an incredible 22-0 run to snatch victory away from the jaws of defeat, beating the Nets 125-114 at Crypto.com Arena.
James Harden led the charge with a double-double of 24 points and 10 assists, while Russell Westbrook added 23 points for the second unit.
Another one!
— NBA (@NBA) January 21, 2024
Clippers closed the game on a 22-0 run to win the game 🤯 https://t.co/v5ii2DAVuQ pic.twitter.com/YBHVMI3yf4
Brooklyn has won only two games SU since Dec. 27 and is a full game back of the play-in tournament in the Eastern Conference. The Clippers, meanwhile, are sitting comfortably in the fourth seed out in the West with a full three-game lead on the No. 5 seed.
Lakers Back At .500 Mark
After getting blown out by the lowly Nets on Friday, the Los Angeles Lakers needed to wipe the slate clean and reestablish themselves against the Portland Trail Blazers two nights later.
And that they did, getting 34 points out of D'Angelo Russell and another 28 from LeBron James to beat Portland 134-110 to get back to the .500 mark at 22-22 SU.
D'Angelo Russell: "Just having fun. That's what we all dreamed of doing. Growing up, you practice moves and try things in your backyard...Never thought I would be able to throw a bounce pass lob to LeBron James."
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) January 22, 2024
34 PTS (14/21 FG) | 8 AST | 6 3PT | 0 TO pic.twitter.com/yE3BdANzmX
Los Angeles managed to cover the 11.5-point spread as favorites, which was only the fourth time in 11 games its managed to do so.
