Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is bullish about his side's prospects for the 2022-23 season with the return of Kawhi Leonard.

The Clippers reached the Conference Finals for the first time in 2021, but missed the playoffs in 2022 with Leonard absent for the entire campaign due to an ACL injury.

Leonard sustained the injury in Game 4 of the 2021 Western Conference Semi-Finals against the Utah Jazz.

Paul George was also restricted to only 31 games in the 2021-22 season with a niggling elbow injury, as they finished with a 42-40 record.

The Clippers are expected to be boosted by Leonard and George both having a clean bill of health while point guard John Wall is set to join in a free-agent deal after he reached a buy-out agreement with the Houston Rockets.

"I think the sky is the limit for our team," Ballmer said. "It'll be our effort, our energy.

"Of course, you got to have a little good luck to win the Larry O'Brien Trophy, which is what we really like.

"I think if we stay healthy next year we are going to be having a chance to talk way late into the [postseason]."

Leonard, who is a two-time NBA Finals MVP (2014 and 2019), looms large as the key to the Clippers' chances.

The 31-year-old small forward averaged 24.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and a career-high 5.2 assists per game in the 2020-21 regular season. He averaged a career-high 27.1 points in his first season with the Clippers in 2019-20.

"[Leonard is] not only your best player but one of the preeminent handful of top players in the world," Ballmer said.

"I am really excited about that. Kawhi's in the gym. He's working, and we got our fingers crossed everything keeps going on schedule."

The Clippers also confirmed on Tuesday that they had signed a three-year $33 million contract extension with center Ivica Zubac.

The Los Angeles Clippers trailed by 20 at one point in Friday's game at the Minnesota Timberwolves and their best player missed 80 per cent of the shots he attempted, yet they still managed to run away with their third straight victory. 

Confidence is growing for a team that started the season in a 1-4 slump, and Friday's stunning 104-84 defeat of the Timberwolves was the latest building block. 

The Clippers outscored Minnesota 57-27 after half-time, the fewest points by any team in a half so far this season, as they became the fourth team in the last 25 years to trail by 20 before winning by 20. 

"To be down 20 on the road and come back and win by 20, just shows a lot about our team – about our character, our resilience, not giving up," Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue told reporters. "We could’ve easily gave in by winning Wednesday’s game and kind of giving into this game, but our guys kept fighting and kept competing, and that’s what you love to see."

On the heels of a 126-115 win in Minnesota on Wednesday, the Clippers got by on a poor shooting night by making sure the Timberwolves shot even worse. 

Los Angeles limited the home team to 34.8 per cent shooting from the field, including a stunning 17 of 52 (32.7 per cent) showing from three-point range, while out-rebounding Minnesota 62-42 and forcing 21 turnovers. 

In a normal game, stats like that would have produced a far more lopsided win, but the Clippers needed every bit of that defending Friday. 

Paul George made just four of 20 from the field and the Clippers knocked down only six of 28 shots from three-point range (21.4 per cent). 

George and his team-mates ended up doing most of their damage from the free-throw line, where they had 32 attempts to Minnesota's seven. George made 13 of 14 from the line to account for the bulk of his 21 points. 

"My guys, they get all the credit tonight," George said. "They kept us alive, they kept me going, it was a group effort."

Reggie Jackson added 20 points and Ivica Zubac contributed 14 points and 14 rebounds for Los Angeles.

"I thought Big Zu was a force down low in the paint tonight," Lue said. "I thought Zu was phenomenal."

The Clippers (4-4) return home to face the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday. 

Paul George hailed the toughness of the Los Angeles Clippers as they celebrated their first ever win in the Western Conference Finals after overcoming the Phoenix Suns 106-92 in Game 3.

Making their first foray into the Conference Finals, the Clippers slumped to a 2-0 deficit against the second-seeded Suns heading into Thursday's clash in Los Angeles.

With Kawhi Leonard still sidelined by a knee injury, George took centre stage as he recorded a 27-point and 15-rebound double-double – which included a stunning half-court buzzer-beater in the third period.

"This team is tough," George told ESPN. "We do whatever it takes. We trust one another. We've got each other's backs, and we just play hard.

"If you're going to beat us, it's just got to be one of those nights if you beat us. I think we've just got great resilience.

"Ty Lue just does a great job making adjustments, counters. We come out and we play hard.

"We put so much into this season, we've invested so much in each other, and we're going to live with the results.

"We'll be ready for Game 4."

Entering the contest at Staples Center following back-to-back games on the road, George had scored at least 20 points in all 15 games this postseason.

The latest performance saw George eclipse LeBron James' run of 15 consecutive games (in 2016) with 20-plus points in the playoffs – Kevin Durant is the only other active player to achieve the feat in the postseason (20 straight in 2012 and 21 in a row in 2018).

The Clippers – who are the first team all-time to be down 2-0 three times in a single postseason – outscored the visiting Suns 34-21 in the third quarter to move clear.

Reggie Jackson added 23 points for the Clippers, while Ivica Zubac (15 points and 16 rebounds) finished with a double-double of his own.

George and Zubac became the first set of team-mates to each tally 15-plus points and 15-plus rebounds in a playoff showdown since James (28 points and 15 rebounds) and Kevin Love (15 points and 21 rebounds) in 2017.

The starting team, which featured George, Jackson, Zubac, Patrick Beverley and Terance Mann, was Lue's fifth change of line-up across the previous eight games, with the coach reaping the rewards of earning his players' trust.

"It means a lot just for those guys to trust me, to understand that whatever I'm doing is the best for the team, not for me," said Lue.

"I just want to win. Making adjustments, sometimes it's tough, because adjustments mean some guys can't play, some guys play more, and you've got to be able to accept that."

Paul George dominated as the Los Angeles Clippers celebrated their first ever win in the Western Conference Finals after overcoming the Phoenix Suns 106-92 in Game 3.

Featuring in the Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history, the Clippers found themselves in a 2-0 hole against the second-seeded Suns heading into Thursday's clash in Los Angeles.

Even in the ongoing absence of superstar Kawhi Leonard (knee), George picked up the slack with a 27-point and 15-rebound double-double – which included a stunning half-court buzzer-beater in the third period – to lift the Clippers and help reduce the series deficit to 2-1.

Entering the contest at Staples Center following back-to-back games on the road, George had scored at least 20 points in all 15 games this postseason.

The latest performance saw George eclipse LeBron James' run of 15 consecutive games (in 2016) with 20-plus points in the playoffs – Kevin Durant is the only other active player to achieve the feat in the postseason (20 straight in 2012 and 21 in a row in 2018).

The Clippers – who are the first team all-time to be down 2-0 three times in a single postseason – outscored the visiting Suns 34-21 in the third quarter to move clear.

Reggie Jackson added 23 points for the Clippers, while Ivica Zubac (15 points and 16 rebounds) finished with a double-double of his own.

George and Zubac became the first set of team-mates to each tally 15-plus points and 15-plus rebounds in a playoff showdown since James (28 points and 15 rebounds) and Kevin Love (15 points and 21 rebounds) in 2017.

Suns veteran Chris Paul returned from the league's health and safety protocol and posted 15 points and 12 assists.

Paul became the 13th player in NBA history with 1,000 playoff assists in the losing effort.

It was a tough outing for star team-mate Devin Booker, who was just five-for-21 shooting as he finished with 15 points in a team-high 40 minutes.

Hawks at Bucks

Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks will look to bounce back against the Atlanta Hawks in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Friday. Trae Young and the Hawks claimed the opener in Milwaukee.