Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Jalen Green made a triumphant season debut for the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, scoring 29 points in a dominant 115-102 NBA victory over the short-handed Los Angeles Clippers. Green, a former number two overall draft pick acquired in the blockbuster off-season trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets, injured a hamstring in training camp and missed the Suns’ first eight games. But the 23-year-old hit the ground running, connecting on 10 of 20 shots from the floor. His six three-pointers set a record for a Suns debut. Green added three rebounds and three assists in 23 minutes on the floor.
“It felt good to be back,” a beaming Green said in an on-court interview. “I was telling everybody on my team, I was like I couldn’t even take my nap fully I was so anxious to get back on the floor. It was a lot of hard work,” he added. “Shout out to the training staff and everybody for working with me. I’m happy to be back out there.” Green said he’s still working to get back to his best form. “We’re still working on it,” he said. “Today was a great step … It’s a great city, great team and hopefully there’s many more wins and many more records to break to come.”
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Devin Booker added 24 points as the Suns, a disappointing 0-4 on the road, improved to 4-1 at home. The Suns, trailing by three after a tight first half in which the lead changed hands 11 times, exploded with 40 points in the third quarter, making their first eight shots of the period and pushing their lead to as many as 20. They led by 14 going into the fourth and were up by 25 before Suns coach Jordan Ott pulled Green and Booker with 7:14 remaining.
Ivica Zubac led the Clippers with 23 points and 11 rebounds, but the absence of Los Angeles’ two top scorers, Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, was too much to overcome. Leonard sat out again with a sprained right ankle while Harden was absent for personal reasons. Clippers guard Bradley Beal was booed on his first return to Phoenix since the Suns bought out his contract and waived him at the end of last season. Beal, who spent two injury-plagued seasons in Phoenix, scored five points on two of 14 shooting, playing 19 minutes because of injury management. The Clippers will get another shot at the Suns on Saturday when they clash in Los Angeles.
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