A last-second dunk from Deandre Ayton earned the Phoenix Suns a 104-103 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Clippers to take a 2-0 lead in the NBA play-offs’ Western Conference finals.
Ayton slammed home the game-winning basket from a lobbed inbound pass towards the rim from Jae Crowder.
Centre Ayton finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds.
Cameron Payne led the Suns scoring with 29 points, while Paul George top scored for the Clippers with 26.
George, however, missed a pair of free throws with 8.2 seconds remaining that gave the Suns a chance to win the game.
While Mikal Bridges missed a three-point attempt with 3.3secs remaining that would have given the Suns the lead, the Clippers tipped the ball out of bounds with under a second left.
It proved to be enough time for Ayton to win it in spectacular fashion.
The Clippers have already fought back from 2-0 down twice to get this far in the play-offs – having done so against the Dallas Mavericks in the first round and then the top-seeded Utah Jazz in the conference semi-finals – and now face the challenge of having to do so again.
They will host game three on Thursday, having won their past four games in Los Angeles.
