Much of it came in a furious fourth-quarter rally, as Paul scored 17 points in a five-minute stretch to crush a Pelicans comeback attempt. LeBron James has the most with 22 such performances, followed by Michael Jordan with 15. Paul is now one of just five players in history to have 10 playoff games with 30 points and 10 assists. He passed Steve Nash, who did the same as a member of the Suns at age 36 in 2010. Paul, who will turn 37 in three weeks, became the oldest player to record 30 points and 10 assists in a playoff game, as he put up exactly those numbers in leading the top-seeded Phoenix Suns to a 110-99 victory in Game 1 of their first-round series on Sunday. Then, after Paul eviscerated the strategy, he let his old friend know it. PHOENIX - First, Chris Paul heard his former teammate and coach Willie Green instruct the New Orleans Pelicans to dare him to shoot. 'He's built for these moments': Chris Paul takes over in 4th quarter to lead Phoenix Suns to Game 1 win over New Orleans Pelicans All rights reserved.You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and Safety Information / Your California Privacy Rights are applicable to you. ^ Back to Top ^ © 2023 ESPN Internet Ventures. But a lot is on all of our plates, and that's everybody throughout the playoffs right now." Get back home, protect our home court and go from there. Embrace the challenge, embrace the opportunity that we have right now, even down 0-2. "A lot comes with this, so you just have to embrace it. "I mean, the playoffs is a lot," Booker said. If necessary, Booker welcomes putting more on his shoulders. "He was probably more tired than he would admit, but with Chris off the floor, it puts a lot of pressure on him. However, Williams expressed concern with asking any more of Booker, who has averaged 35.4 points and 6.6 assists in 42.9 minutes in the playoffs. If Paul is unable to play, Booker will likely handle some of the point guard responsibilities. Cameron Payne, the Suns' backup point guard, scored two points on 1-of-7 shooting in 17 minutes, during which Phoenix was outscored by 16 points. Denver outscored Phoenix by 13 the remainder of the game. The Suns, who lost consecutive games with Kevin Durant (24 points, 10-of-27 shooting) in uniform for the first time, led by three points when Paul exited. He has the Suns' best plus-minus in the playoffs, as Phoenix has outscored opponents by 39 points over seven games with Paul on the floor. Paul is averaging 12.4 points and 7.4 assists during this postseason. He has missed eight career playoff games due to injury, most notably a hamstring strain that sidelined Paul for the last two games of the 2018 Western Conference finals, when his Houston Rockets built a 3-2 lead but lost to the eventual champion Golden State Warriors. Paul, who turns 38 on Saturday, has dealt with playoff injuries multiple times throughout his surefire Hall of Fame career. "We're not quite sure what it is right now, but it seems to be something in the groin area. "He just came up where he couldn't push off of it or anything," Suns coach Monty Williams said. Paul slowly walked up the court after the Suns got possession of the ball. Paul, who exited the arena immediately after the final buzzer and did not speak to the media, checked out of the game with 4:32 remaining in the third quarter and immediately headed to the locker room.Ī couple of possessions earlier, Paul grabbed his left groin after battling to box out Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. We're going to hold it down while he is out - or if he's out - and just take it from there." "All we can do is hope he has a speedy recovery," Suns shooting guard Devin Booker, who had 35 points and six assists in the loss, said. Paul's status is uncertain as the series shifts to Phoenix with the Suns in an 0-2 hole against the Western Conference's top seed. Suns guard Chris Paul exits Game 2 with left groin tightnessĭENVER - Suns point guard Chris Paul hobbled off the Ball Arena court in the third quarter of Phoenix's 97-87 loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinal series Monday night due to left groin tightness. You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser
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