Players Say Decision Sits Well

Point guard Sam Cassell has played a big role in the best season in franchise history, and one Clippers official credits the 13-year veteran with “changing the culture� of the team.

So how could Cassell sit on the bench for all but the final 1 minute 17 seconds of the fourth quarter in Friday’s 94-91 loss to the Phoenix Suns in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals?

Reporters covering the series criticized Coach Mike Dunleavy for the move, but it made sense to the Clippers.

“Coach has done a great job all year with having a feel to use guys in the right situations,� power forward Elton Brand said. “If you look at the way he’s done things, it’s obviously worked.�

Cassell acknowledges defense is not the best part of his game, and the Suns, who led the NBA in scoring, are the league’s best at putting pressure on opponents because of their quickness, speed and shooting.

Second-year point guard Shaun Livingston is a stronger defender, and the Clippers, who trailed by 11 points early in the fourth quarter, took the lead with Livingston running the offense, so Dunleavy stuck with him.

Moreover, Cassell was struggling.

The Suns assigned 6-foot-7 forward Shawn Marion to guard the 6-3 Cassell, and the strategy worked well: Cassell missed eight of 10 shots.

Of course, Cassell is known for his clutch shooting, so the Clippers might have benefited from having him on the court.

Right?

“Down the stretch is my time, but those guys had something good going,� he said. “Like I said, I’ve got no complaints, but I know I’ll be in there [tonight].�

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The Suns made only 37.2% of their shots Friday. They missed 20 of 27 from beyond the three-point arc, 15 in a row before Marion connected late in the game. They scored fewer than 100 points, usually a recipe for disaster.

On the plus side for the Suns, they won.

“It was a great win for us,� guard Steve Nash said Saturday. “To play so poorly offensively and find a way to win is a great testament to our toughness. We really hung in there and battled and won in a different way.�

The Suns, who averaged 108.4 points and made 48% of their shots during the regular season, had not shot worse in a victory this season.

They’d lost eight consecutive playoff games when scoring fewer than 100 points, four this season. And they’d been 0-7 this season in games decided by three points or fewer.

But the NBA’s highest-scoring team showed that it could play defense too, limiting the Clippers to 42.2% shooting after Brand & Co. had made 56.7% of their shots and averaged 122.5 points in the first two games.

The Suns’ 46 rebounds left them only one shy of the Clippers’ total.

“It’s not the type of game we’re going to win all the time,� Nash said, “but once in a while we can do it. ... If we need to, we can scrap out a win.�

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Marion, after drawing the defensive assignment of guarding Brand in the first two games, was switched to Cassell in Game 3 and, in addition to limiting the Clippers point guard to six points, the All-Star forward scored 32 points and took 19 rebounds.

“What happens is, he doesn’t have to box anybody out and he can just run and jump,� Suns Coach Mike D’Antoni said. “And he jumps better than anybody, so he can go over the top of people and get rebounds. That really freed him up.�

Times staff writer Jerry Crowe contributed to this report.