FILIPINO-American guard Jalen Green wasted no time proving his worth in his first game with the Phoenix Suns, erupting for a team-high 29 points to power his new squad past the Los Angeles Clippers, 115–102, in the 2025–26 NBA regular season on Thursday night (Friday in Manila) at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
Green, who was traded from the Houston Rockets in exchange for Kevin Durant during the offseason, torched the Clippers with six three-pointers, along with three rebounds, three assists, and two steals, spearheading a massive second-half surge that helped Phoenix improve to 3–5.
“Being here feels special. I just wanted to set the tone and show I belong with this group,” said Green, whose breakout debut sent the Suns crowd roaring as he took over the third quarter alongside Devin Booker.
Booker added 24 points, seven assists, and six rebounds, while Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale, Mark Williams, and Ryan Dunn contributed 18, 17, 13, and 10 markers, respectively.
After trailing 48–51 at halftime, the Suns unleashed a fiery third-quarter run behind Green and Booker to grab an 88–74 lead. They widened the gap to as much as 25 points, 104–79, before the Clippers made a late push.
Ivica Zubac led Los Angeles (3–4) with 23 points and 11 rebounds, followed by Cam Christie with 17. John Collins, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Derrick Jones Jr. chipped in 13, 12, and 10 points, respectively.
Meanwhile, Nikola Jokic tallied another triple-double—33 points, 16 assists, and 15 rebounds—as the Denver Nuggets beat the Miami Heat, 122–112, at Ball Arena in Denver.
Aaron Gordon scored 24 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. added 18 off the bench, and Jamal Murray and Christian Braun finished with 14 and 11, respectively, giving Denver its 11th straight regular-season win over Miami.
The Heat got 23 points from Norman Powell, 22 from Andrew Wiggins, and 21 from Jaime Jaquez Jr., while Bam Adebayo exited in the first quarter with a left foot injury and did not return.
In other results: Houston Rockets defeated Memphis Grizzlies, 124–109; Sacramento Kings edged Golden State Warriors, 121–116; Cleveland Cavaliers topped Philadelphia 76ers, 132–121; Boston Celtics crushed Washington Wizards, 136–107; and New York Knicks outgunned Minnesota Timberwolves, 137–114./PN
