The Suns are looking for their second win in the Clippers' “incredible” new arena

The Phoenix Suns enjoyed their first trip to the Los Angeles Clippers' new $2 billion Intuit Dome so much that they made a return visit to Inglewood, California, on Thursday night, barely more than a week later.

The Suns and Clippers opened a new season and a new building, with Phoenix earning a 116-113 overtime victory on October 23.

“Unbelievable,” Kevin Durant of the Suns said of the Clippers’ new arena. “I absolutely loved it.”

Durant scored 25 points in the season-opening win and hit a game-winning jump shot with 21.2 seconds left in regulation. Phoenix used an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter to take the lead with 1:39 left, then watched as Los Angeles' James Harden missed a free throw late in overtime that would have tied the game again.

Bradley Beal scored 24 points in the win, while Devin Booker scored 15 points as coach Mike Budenholzer won his Suns regular-season debut.

Two days after beating the Clippers, the Suns lost 123-116 on the road to the Los Angeles Lakers. But they avenged that loss with a 109-105 home win over the Lakers on Monday and are now 3-1 on the season.

Booker scored a season-high 33 points in Game 2 against the Lakers, while Durant added 30 points and averaged 29.0 points in four games. Jusuf Nurkic scored just two points on 1 of 6 shots from the field in 15 minutes.

Phoenix, however, is happiest with its defense after holding the Lakers to 14 points in the second quarter and 22 points in the fourth quarter as they rallied to win on Monday.

“We know what we’re capable of offensively,” said Booker, who turned 28 on Wednesday. “We know how to show that by making a stop (on defense) and getting out in transition.”

The Clippers are now 0-2 in their new home after losing 106-105 to the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday. The Clippers continue to play without star Kawhi Leonard, who is out indefinitely with a chronic knee injury.

Under the leadership of new assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy, the Clippers also performed well on defense. Los Angeles has allowed an average of 107.5 points through its first four games, fifth-best in the NBA.

Even in the Clippers' loss on Wednesday, the Blazers shot just 44.6 percent from the floor.

“Defensively, we knew there would be an adjustment,” Clippers forward Nicolas Batum said. “(Van Gundy) introduced a new system for us and we work on it every day, but I didn't know we would be so effective with it this early. … By the time Kawhi came back, we knew we had to be a good defensive team.

Norman Powell scored 30 points and James Harden added 19 points and 10 assists against the Blazers. The Clippers had their chances late in the game, holding the Blazers without a basket on their final three possessions.

But Los Angeles failed to score on its final four possessions, including two missed free throws by Ivica Zubac, who was averaging 22.7 points per game and had six points on 2 of 7 shooting coming into the game.

–Field level media