LOS ANGELES — One win down, 15 more to go. After evening their first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers at 1-1, the Phoenix Suns continue their hunt for the franchise’s first NBA title in Los Angeles on Thursday night with Game 3.
There are three players on the Suns roster who already have won championship rings – Kevin Durant and Damion Lee from their time with the Golden State Warriors and Torrey Craig who started the 2020-2021 season with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Craig was plugged into the starting lineup in place of forward Josh Okogie for the first two games of this best-of-seven series against the Clippers. The 32-year-old has come through with pivotal hustle plays and physicality on both ends of the floor.
“Craig made just about every big shot for us tonight. It’s the timing of the shots,” Suns guard Chris Paul said following Phoenix’s Game 2 win. “Sometimes when the team got a chance to cut it from six to four or three and then Craig would hit a three to put us up nine. It was the timing of the shots that he made and that’s big in this series.”
Craig finished with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting with three rebounds, two steals and two assists in Phoenix’s Game 2 victory. In the Game 1 loss, Craig scored 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting with four rebounds and a steal. The five-year NBA veteran explained that execution down the stretch, offensively and defensively, is what gave Phoenix the advantage in Game 2.
“We spaced the floor the right way so CP can get to his jumpers, and he made them. Book taking over and being aggressive. They kind of doubled so we were just reading off the double-team and attacking off that,” Craig said. “And then they were finding me in the corners to make shots, so I think it was a collective of all that.”
Craig has knocked down seven of his 12 three-point attempts in the first two games of this series, providing another outside scoring threat in addition to Devin Booker, Paul, and Durant. The Suns are now 9-1 with Durant in the lineup and as this group continues to perfect its spacing on the floor together, Craig’s aggressiveness will be a necessary factor for the starting unit’s success.
“It’s huge. We need him to continue to be confident and shoot the ball. He understands that teams are going to play a little gimmicky and throw a big on him or just leave him wide open and give him three so we gotta make them pay,” Durant said of Craig’s three-point shooting. “I think he’s been doing a great job of it thus far.”
Game 3 of the Suns-Clippers series tips off Thursday night at 7:30 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
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