Recap: Suns take a 2-0 series lead after a miraculous Deandre Ayton game-winner to beat the Clippers, 104-103 - Bright Side of the Sun

A moment later, Patrick Beverley earned his second foul and then Jae Crowder forced a jump ball that got physical and ended in technical fouls on both Crowder and Marcus Morris.

As new starting center Ivica Zubac continued to play with inconsistent effort and focus for L.A., the Suns smartly went after him.

The second period brought chaos.

At the 8-ish minute mark, both Booker and Paul George re-entered the game, after six points from each side.

With Beverley out there fighting over screens, the Clippers’ drop coverage with Zubac worked much better than it did on Sunday, when Booker dissected it.

The slugfest second quarter ended mercifully with the Suns up, 48-47, with Payne dropping in a quiet 16 to lead the Suns.

The fight continued to start the third, as officials reviewed a hard foul by Beverley on Payne to see if it was a flagrant, then George drew an iffy foul to get to the line with a chance to tie the game.

George missed the second, but the Clippers snared the offensive rebound, then another, drawing a foul on Ayton in the process.

The play was reviewed and again deemed a common foul, but Booker went to the locker room with a towel to his face to stop the bleeding from the collision.

The Suns kept their lead thanks to some savvy play by Booker to get to the line — even with a swollen nose.

That also gave the Suns a 2-for-1 opportunity, which they needed because George responded with a bucket as well.

Give credit to Lue, he unexpectedly went to Beverley to start and it made a huge difference.

On the inbounds, George went for the Hail Mary in the backcourt and was fouled, but missed both free throws, keeping the L.A

On the final play of the game, with Crowder inbounding from the far baseline, Monty called an incredible set to free Ayton up for a lob over Zubac to win the game:

The Clippers had 0.7 seconds left afterward, after an eternity of adjustments and Lue putting both Cousins and Zubac in the game as screeners