Kevin Durant gets fired up, Suns make historic comeback. Was this the spark team needed? (2025)

Their best player and head coach were at odds early.

They trailed by as many as 23 points.

The fans started leaving at the end of the third quarter.

Then the Phoenix Suns responded, pulling off an incredible 119-117 comeback victory over the Los Angeles Clippers before a sellout crowd of 17,071 at PHX Arena with those who stayed witnessing basketball insanity.

Down 95-72 with 2:01 left in the third quarter, the Suns went on a crazy 36-13 run to tie the game at 108 with 3:50 left. Devin Booker put the Suns up for good, 110-108, on a driving transition layup with 3:02 left.

Kevin Durant scored a team-high 34 in leading the comeback after he and Mike Budenholzer exchanged words during a timeout in the first quarter in which the superstar forward jerked his arm away from the Suns head coach.

Phoenix wound up pulling off their largest comeback ever to start the fourth quarter in franchise history as they trailed by 19 going into the game's final 12 minutes.

Here are takeaways as Phoenix completed a four-game sweep of the Clippers (32-29) in their regular season series. The Suns (29-33) begin a four-game road trip Friday at Denver (39-22).

'We're competitive': Kevin Durant pulls arm away from Suns coach during timeout in comeback win

The comeback

First off, fans made a mad and disappointed exit from the arena. The Suns were 1-2 on the homestand with an ugly loss to New Orleans and an embarrassing defeat Sunday against Minnesota.

The Timberwolves basically clowned them in the fourth, to the point Donte DiVincenzo tried a bounce lob pass to Anthony Edwards for a dunk Bradley Beal denied by placing his hands on Edwards for what later was ruled a flagrant 1 foul.

Then, the Suns proceed to fall behind by 23 points in the next game against a team they had already beaten three times this season. The Clippers had Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, but no injured Norman Powell, who has been their best player all season.

Down 95-76 to start the fourth, the Suns were either going to get completely blown out or make it a game and actually compete, something they miserably failed to do Sunday night against the T-Wolves.

They chose to compete and wound up winning thanks primarily to three things.

One, Durant took over and got the crowd going. Saying after the game the fans "looked dead," Durant took it upon himself to call for the crowd to stand up as the Suns were on a 15-2 run to make the difference 10 points, 97-87, with 9:57 left.

Scoring 19 points in the fourth, Durant refused to let the Suns go down without a fight.

Two, Collin Gillespie was huge. The two-way point guard scored all 10 points of his points off the bench in the fourth quarter. His 3 gave Phoenix a 119-114 lead with 36.4 seconds left.

He made plays, defended and didn't shy away from the moment. He played so well, Tyus Jones didn't see one second of action in the fourth quarter. The Suns were without Bradley Beal, who missed the second half with a recurring injury to his left calf. Budenholzer elected to go with Gillespie and stuck with him.

He praised his defense, saying Gillespie plays with an edge.

Gillespie helped lead Phoenix's defensive charge and was just as instrumental in getting the crowd going.

Lastly, Budenholzer did push several right buttons to help put the Suns in the right position to win such as sticking with Mason Plumlee and Gillespie, but going back to Nick Richards. No one had an answer for Clippers big Ivica Zubac, who scored a career-high 35 points to go with 10 rebounds, but Budenholzer found the right mix with his two bigs.

The craziest part of the comeback was the finish, though.

Up three with 5.9 seconds left, Booker had a chance to put Los Angeles away with two free throws, but missed them both.

The two teams were without timeouts. Harden looked to push, but Booker fouled him in the backcourt. Harden went to the line needing to make the first and miss the second to give the Clippers a chance to tie or win the game at the end.

He made the first, missed the second and Leonard, from outside the 3-point line, beat Booker to the ball and missed the putback attempt. Then Zubac got an offensive tip, but it didn't drop at the buzzer.

This is after Budenholzer put Plumlee and Richards in the game to rebound. Imagine if that game had gone into overtime?

It was an appropriate finish to Phoenix's comeback win.

Can this spark an instant turnaround?

The Suns fell behind big, but rallied with spirited play led by Durant and Gillespie.

The Suns were 2-8 in their last 10 games, were without Beal in the second half, but stormed back.

Phoenix begins a four-game road trip Friday against the Nuggets. How they play in that game will confirm whether change has been made or that Tuesday’s thriller was just a highlight in what has been a bad season.

The Suns found something defensively in the fourth quarter, limiting the Clippers to 30% shooting (1-of-6 from 3). They needed to after yielding a 41-19 second quarter to trail 65-49 at the half.

Phoenix once again proved it can play like the team that started 8-1 with two of those victories coming against the Clippers. The Suns trailed by as many as 21 points early in the second half of a 125-119 road victory Oct. 31.

The Suns are capable of offensive eruptions and stifling defense, but they've just as consistently flopped on both sides in embarrassing losses. Tuesday's comeback begs the question: Why can't the Suns play at the level they did in the fourth quarter more often, especially now when they need wins to climb into playoff contention?

Phoenix still is 11th in the West, but seeing the Clippers go from sixth to ninth after the loss shows how quickly the seedings can change in the West.

The Dallas Mavericks hold the final play-in position, three games ahead of the Suns entering play on Wednesday, but lost star guard Kyrie Irving (torn ACL) for the season.

(This story has been updated to add new information.)

Have opinions about the current state of theSuns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin atdmrankin@gannett.comor contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at@DuaneRankin.

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