NBA Playoffs: The Suns blaze past the Clippers in Game 6 and into the NBA Finals!

Los Angeles, California - The Phoenix Suns have taken care of the Los Angeles Clippers in six games to advance to the NBA Finals.

Suns guard Chris Paul led all scorers with 41 points in game 6 as Phoenix moves on to the NBA Finals.
Suns guard Chris Paul led all scorers with 41 points in game 6 as Phoenix moves on to the NBA Finals.  © IMAGO / Icon SMI

The Suns scorched the Clippers 130-103 on Wednesday night, clinching the Western Conference Finals to move on to their first NBA Finals appearance in nearly 30 years.

Chris Paul (36) did everything he could and then some to ensure his first and the franchise's third appearance in the Finals. Paul dropped 41 points to silence the Clippers and their fans as they closed out the series on the road. Devin Booker scored 22 points, while Jae Crowder added 19 points for Phoenix.

The Suns were on fire, hitting 17 threes in total – over half their three-point attempts. The Clippers just couldn’t stay in the game, holding only a one-point lead early in the first quarter, but eventually trailing by as much as 28 towards the end.

Jaylen Brown, Jalen Brunson, and Damian Lillard among NBA All-Star Skills players
NBA Jaylen Brown, Jalen Brunson, and Damian Lillard among NBA All-Star Skills players

Los Angeles seemed to finally fall victim to the absence of their two-time Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, who sat out his eighth-straight game with a knee injury. Led by Paul George in the interim, they were hoping that they could persevere as they had in each round of the playoffs up to this point, but it wasn't even close. The Clippers quickly ran out of gas as Paul took over with 31 second-half points to run them off their own court in the blowout victory.

Marcus Morris Sr. led LA with 26 points while George played a decent game, but his 21 points were nowhere near his recent heroics.

Phoenix also made some NBA history as the only team to appear in the Finals after missing the playoffs for ten consecutive years.

The Suns will now wait for the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals

Phoenix will get a well-deserved break as they wait for either the Bucks or the Hawks, currently tied 2-2 in their series, to join them. The Suns played against both teams twice during the regular season and managed to squeak out one-point wins both times against Milwaukee. Things were less straight forward with the Hawks, who dealt them a blowout loss in Atlanta, where Chris Paul only scored six points.

Whichever team advances out of the east, the Finals will feature superstars getting their first taste of the Finals with the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo out of Milwaukee, or Trae Young from Atlanta.

The NBA Finals will begin as soon as next week.

Cover photo: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire

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