NBA Finals: Los Angeles Clippers keep series alive against the Phoenix Suns

Last update on.In the absence of Kawhi Leonard, George plays a greater rolePaul George scored 41 points for the Los Angeles Clippers, who won a road win over the Phoenix Suns to keep their NBA Western Conference finals series alive.Although the Suns had hoped to win the series on their home turf, the Clippers' 116-102 victory leaves the best-of-7 series at 3-2.Los Angeles victory Wednesday will bring the Clippers to a tie in the series.George said, "We fight, and we're scrappy. We leave everything on the table and we do it together.""That's what is most important - we do this together."This was the third consecutive time that the Clippers won an elimination game during the season's playoffs. Monday's win came even without Kawhi Leonard, who was injured.George was the star of the show, scoring 20 points in the third quarter to win the game against Phoenix. He was 15-for-20 on the floor, with three three-pointers and 13 rebounds as well as six assists.Reggie Jackson backed him with 23 points, while Marcus Morris added 22 on DeMarcus Cousins' 15."All season we've had down guys, guys were out, different guys are stepping up, and playing well," stated Tyronn Lue, Clippers coach."I keep repeating that this group is resilient, but it is really this group. No matter who is on the floor, we're a great team. We have to do it two more times."Monty Williams, Phoenix coach, said that the Clippers played with "desperation".He stated, "It was quite obvious that we cannot play with a ‘show up’ mentality.""We arrived in the first quarter and they played with desperation. You must feel the desperation. It's not enough to just show up and hope they give it to you.