Whicker: It’s Ivica Zubac’s turn to set tone for Clippers, masters of Game 3

If there is a road to the NBA Finals for the Clippers, it runs through the paint.

They bounced back Thursday night for various reasons, one of which was the inexplicable stupor of the Phoenix Suns, who didn’t seem aware of the Clippers’ Game 3 resurrections. The Clippers were quicker to the loose balls and the rebounds throughout this 106-92 win, even though they had their usual spasm of turnovers, and in the end, Reggie Jackson again made all the shots that mattered.

But the Clippers also decided to make the game difficult for Suns center Deandre Ayton, who had played unfettered basketball through the first two series and the first two games of this one. And they did that by playing center Ivica Zubac, the victim of the new 6-foot-8-and-under basketball ethic in recent games.

Zubac got to the foul line eight times and made seven of those shots in the first quarter, which was seven more than Phoenix managed. That helped the Clippers lead by eight.

In the third quarter, Zubac made an extraordinary catch on a lob pass to get back to the foul line, and then he got a dunk off Paul George’s pass, which resulted in a 66-56 lead.

Overall Zubac had 15 points in 32½ minutes, 10 free-throw attempts, two blocked shots and 16 rebounds. Ayton shot 9 for 13 from the field, which is almost myopic for him, and had 18 points and nine rebounds.

If the center matchup is that close, that’s a big win for the Clippers, and if you like plus-minus, Zubac was plus-28 and Ayton was minus-25.

He might not play 32 minutes in the next two games, for all we know. He also got criticized for being on the wrong side of Ayton during the last-second “Valley-Oop” that gave Phoenix Game 2, although the surgical accuracy of Jae Crowder’s pass was the real problem for the Clippers.

But in this game, Zubac fought Ayton on the lobs from Chris Paul and Devin Booker, and he pushed the future All-Star out of comfortable spots.

“That combination of Zu and Pat Beverley is unbelievable,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “Starting them together has been a big change for our defense. Pat can come from behind and block your shot. I’m happy for those guys to finally get their moment. For them not to play that much in the first two series, and then come in there and play like this, is unbelievable.

“We just haven’t played big in a long time, so Zu had to get his rhythm. He got a better feel for the game as it went along.”

Beverley’s presence allowed Lue to relieve George of the defensive burdens outside, especially when Beverley and Mann could check Paul and Booker. It also became easier when Cam Payne, the backup point guard who has been an insoluble problem so far, turned his ankle. That meant Paul had to play nearly 39 minutes in his first game after he entered the COVID-19 protocols, a sight that was so encouraging to the Suns that they spent much of the second half watching him instead of moving.

Paul was 5 for 19 from the field. Booker, who broke his nose when he was head-butted by Beverley in Game 2, was 5 for 21 and had to fight foul trouble. Rest assured that Booker will not be wearing a plastic face shield as a preventive measure whenever his nose heals. He was visibly uncomfortable with it. Maybe the Clippers should ask Sacramento to enforce a mask mandate for Game 4.

The Suns were 10 for 32 from the 3-point line, shot 38.9 percent overall, got outrebounded by nine, had only 10 fast-break points, shot 11 fewer foul shots than the Clippers, and probably played their worst game of the postseason so far.

Again, this is likely an aberration. If not, the Clippers can tie the best-of-seven series on Saturday night and reinforce what seems a bottomless belief system.

With injured All-Star Kawhi Leonard sitting in a Staples Center box, the Clippers got their usual variety pack of contributions. Marcus Morris got a special commendation from Lue for playing almost 24 minutes on his bad knee. Luke Kennard hit two 3-pointers, including a corner shot that stopped a Phoenix run and pushed a seven-point lead back to 10.

When Booker’s drive cut L.A.’s lead to 89-83 and then the Suns got it back on a backcourt violation, Beverley perked up with a steal and a fast-break pass to Jackson. Paul responded with a missed 3-pointer, again with little help from teammates, and Jackson nailed another 3-pointer for an 11-point lead.

The Clippers were out of danger, having learned again that their safe space is in the paint.