On January 3, Beijing time, the Suns challenged the Hornets away, although the Suns center Ayton was absent, they still blew up the Hornets, and established a huge advantage in the first half, and finally won 133-99 against the opponent by 34 points.
In the first quarter, Paul focused on threading the needle, 0 shots in the single quarter but delivered 6 assists, Booker felt hot in the single quarter, 5 of 7 in the single quarter scored 14 points, and the Suns took a 9-point lead in the first quarter. Entering the second quarter, after being chased by the Hornets to 4 points, the Suns once again played a wave of climax to open up the point difference, and the team's newly signed Biyongbo also staged a good play of the partition in the face of the old club. At the end of the half, the Suns had a huge advantage of 26 points. Paul's 10 assists tied with the Hornets, Booker scored 20 points at halftime, and Suns second-year rookie Jaylen Smith had already delivered a double-double of 11 points and 10 boards in two quarters.
After halftime, Paul still did not have too high offensive desire, still responsible for another 5 assists in a single quarter, the Suns' attack made the Hornets unable to resist, and Jaylen Smith also staged a good play of clipping Plumlee. At the end of the third quarter, the Suns extended their lead to 32 points, and the team had already scored in double figures in the first three quarters!
The last quarter turned completely into garbage time, the two sides replaced the main force ahead of time, and the Suns won a big victory. In the whole game, Paul only played 3 of 6 in 26 minutes to send out 7 points, 6 boards, 16 assists and 1 turnover, with a plus-minus of +34! Booker had 24 points and 7 boards, Shamet had 17 points and 4 steals, Jaylen Smith had 19 points and 12 boards, and Biyombo had 11 points and 6 boards against the old owner. With this victory, the Suns were only half a win away from the Warriors.