Phoenix, Arizona - The Phoenix Suns took the series lead over the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.

Devin Booker (24) hit a personal milestone on Sunday afternoon as he led the Suns over the Clippers 120-114. Both teams were playing without their biggest stars, but the back and forth made for a spectacular series opener.

Phoenix won an eighth-straight playoff game as Booker scored 40 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists for his first career playoff triple-double. His performance on the court bolstered a team that was missing their floor general, point guard Chris Paul, who has been kept out of the lineup due to Covid-related issues. The Suns didn’t miss a beat though while the rest of the team banded together to outlast LA.

Booker was comfortable downplaying his amazing efforts in game one, to focus on the task at hand. "I'm just going out there to win every game possible. I've been saying this since the start of the playoffs –every next game is the biggest game," Booker said in his postgame comments to ESPN.

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The Clippers were also missing their best player, Kawhi Leonard, who was out for a third-straight game due to a sprained knee suffered in the conference semifinals. The timeline for his return is still up in the air at this point, with no official word from the Clippers.

Paul George was tasked again to be at the helm for LA, and he did play well, scoring 34 points. But in the end, there was no spoiling Booker’s big day.

The Suns come into the Western Conference finals off a sweep of the Nuggets in the previous round. During game one on Sunday, the Clippers appeared like a team that could make things tough for the series favorites. They were often close in the game and could’ve escaped with the win if perhaps they got more offensive production from their entire starting five.

Apart from George’s efforts, the other four LA starters put together 44 points, whereas Phoenix added 58 points to Booker’s game-high of 40.

The Clippers have another chance to take away the Suns’ home-court advantage in game two, on Tuesday night from Phoenix.