Phoenix didn't need Devin Booker to carry the scoring load on Tuesday night. The Suns dismantled the Los Angeles Clippers 133–110 at home, powered by 81 bench points and 22 made three-pointers. A night after Victor Wembanyama overwhelmed Phoenix, the response came from the opposite end of the roster: reserves who turned a potentially awkward back-to-back into the Suns' most convincing win of the season. The NBA box score records the final result, while Reuters game report details the bench-driven turnaround.
Jordan Goodwin's return from a calf problem was the spark. He scored 18 points in roughly 14 minutes, hitting six of seven attempts from deep. That's an extraordinary return for a guard who'd been sidelined, and it changed the shape of Phoenix's offence. Goodwin didn't need a long spell of isolation possessions or a high shot volume to matter. He gave the Suns a reliable outlet when the Clippers tried to contain their established creators, and every clean catch-and-shoot look increased the cost of helping towards Booker.
The decisive separation began before halftime. Phoenix led 29–18 after one quarter, then Goodwin hit four threes in the second. Collin Gillespie capped the half with a long-range buzzer-beater, sending the Suns into the break 64–47 ahead. Eleven first-half threes meant the Clippers were already chasing both the score and the geometry of the floor. As the Associated Press recap notes, Phoenix finished 22-for-43 from beyond the arc, an accuracy level that made every defensive compromise expensive.
There was no late rescue for Los Angeles. Phoenix opened the third quarter with a 22–9 burst and eventually led by 32. Booker finished with 17 points, but the more revealing number was the distribution: seven Suns reached double figures, five of them reserves. Luke Kennard contributed 14, Gillespie had 12 points and eight assists, and Khaman Maluach added 11 points and seven rebounds. Rather than requiring one star to manufacture difficult shots, Phoenix had multiple players making the Clippers defend the entire possession.
The rebounding response mattered too. Phoenix had been badly beaten on the glass by San Antonio the previous night, but against the Clippers it controlled the boards 49–37, according to Reuters game report. That gave the Suns another route to sustain attacks when the first attempt didn't fall. The third-quarter margin was big enough for coach Jordan Ott to rest every starter in the fourth, an unusually comfortable finish to the second night of a back-to-back.
For the Clippers, the defeat was a sharp reversal after Sunday's victory over New Orleans ended a seven-game losing streak. Darius Garland, Rui Hachimura and Baba Miller each scored 13, but Los Angeles couldn't match the Suns' perimeter efficiency or stop the second unit from dictating the game. The Clippers have now lost eight of their past nine, and the defensive problems that preceded their brief relief against the Pelicans were back in plain sight.
Phoenix improved to 4–6 and has won three of its past four games. Goodwin's instant shooting impact is the headline, but the larger development is that the Suns found a way to win decisively without asking Booker to do everything. If that bench spacing and shared creation continue, opponents won't be able to load up on Phoenix's lead guard quite so comfortably. Tuesday offered a particularly persuasive example of what a deeper, more balanced Suns attack can look like.
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