The Phoenix Suns beat the Los Angeles Clippers 111-95 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California on Thursday, to avoid their sixth straight loss.

Devin Booker, who missed the previous two games for the Suns because of a hamstring injury, returned in the final competition of the team's four-game trip on the road. He seemed to have recovered well physically judging by many of his offensive moves, including a two-handed reverse dunk in fast break. However, Booker has to work on his shooting touch after going 6-for-22 from the field, including 1-for-9 at the 3-point line.

Besides' Booker's poor form, the Suns also missed their starting center Deandre Ayton in Thursday's game. Jock Landale made up for Ayton's absence with a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds. Josh Okogie made key contributions with his remarkable energy and athleticism by grabbing five offensive rebounds.

Moreover, Booker distracted most of the Clippers' defensive attention, granting Mikal Bridges a lot of open shots. Having gone 11-for-18 in field goals (FGs), Bridges dropped court-high 27 points for the Suns. His performance in addition to Chris Paul's double-double of 15 points and 13 assists gave their team a relatively easy win on Thursday night.

Losing by 16 points was far from a close game for the Clippers, not to mention that they trailed by as many as 30 points in the third quarter. Nonetheless, considering that coach Tyronn Lue sidelined four of the team's regular starters, including the star duo of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, and two on their major rotations, the Clippers had been ready for the result.

Despite the loss, the home team achieved something in Thursday's game. For example, Terance Mann and Amir Coffey both did well when the team began to cut their deficit from desperate 30 points to merely hopeful 19 points in the third quarter. Both had good size as swingmen. Since the team would stitch to small-ball squad on many occasions, the better form Mann and Coffey are in, the more likely they will be able to help the team on the court.

By contrast, Moussa Diabate and Moses Brown proved with their disappointing performances that Lue was right not to give them too much time if he had other options. As Ivica Zubac sat out Thursday's competition, both Brown and Diabate played much longer in the court than usual. For sure, they worked hard as each grabbed six offensive rebounds, but that didn't cover the fact that both were sloppy finishers and played no defensive role except bluffing in the paint.

When the Clippers have to switch to small-ball squad in the future, Nicolas Batum seems to be their only reliable center for that purpose.

Other games on Thursday (away teams come first):

Miami Heat 111-108 Houston Rockets

The Heat implemented more zone defense in the absence of Bam Adebayo when they were playing the Rockets at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on Thursday. Though they kept Alperen Sengun from dominating the floor, the Heat couldn't stop the rest of the Rockets from grabbing 18 offensive rebounds and scoring 58 points in the paint.

Fortunately for the visiting team, Tyler Herro exploded right when they needed him to do so, Having gone 10-for-15 behind the arc, he dropped career-high 41 points Jimmy Butler though completely lost his touch for jumpers, he kept charging the rim to get a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds in addition to seven assists, four steals and three blocks to lead the Heat to secure their third consecutive win.

Milwaukee Bucks 101-142 Memphis Grizzlies

This game at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee on Thursday night was supposed to be a clash between two champion candidates this season. Nonetheless, the game was long gone in less than three quarters.

It took Ja Morant only 25 minutes to score a triple-double of 25 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. His efficiency of shooting 9-for-21 in FGs was not pretty, but none of the rest of the Grizzlies went under 50 percent of FG rate. The team’s bench unit outscored their Bucks counterpart 78-62 in points.

Having extended their winning streak to seven games, the Grizzlies replaced the New Orleans Pelicans as the leader of the Western Conference.

New Orleans Pelicans 129-132 Utah Jazz

The Jazz's huge front court combination of Kelly Olynyk, Lauri Markkanen and Jarred Vanderbilt could not stop Zion Williamson from dropping 31 points, eight rebounds and eight assists at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Thursday. However, the Jazz made the Pelicans' defense look embarrassing as well by making 18 triples and 30 free throws (37 earned).

Trey Murphy III saved the Pelicans by draining the game-tying 3-pointer when there were only two seconds left in the fourth quarter. Markkanen had the chance to seal the deal for the Jazz in regular time when he received the ball next to the hoop, but Larry Nance Jr. denied his shot to drag the game into overtime (OT).

Williamson was still the Pelicans' most reliable offensive option during OT, but he couldn't always receive the ball, especially when Markkanen, Olynyk and Walker Kessler filled the paint with their bodies. After C.J. McCollum missed a desperate 3-pointer in the finals even seconds, the Jazz and the Pelicans both scored two points until the game ended as the second loss in a row for the Pelicans.