On January 5, Beijing time, the Suns played against the Pelicans, and the difference between the rankings of the two teams was obvious, and the 2nd pair in the West was in the 2nd place in the West. The Suns couldn't fully widen the score, but they beat the Pelicans 123-110. Booker had 33 points and 9 boards, Paul had 11 points, 5 boards and 15 assists, and 5 of 11 shots did not shoot much, paul played too easily. And Biyongbo became a surprise soldier, under Paul's feeding, he got 16 points and 6 boards, 6 shots, and did not expect to shine in the second spring in the sun.
Smith came up and scored five points, three points and inside. Booker 2+1, Paul hit a three-pointer, johnson countered the dunk, leading by 11 points. After the Pelicans scored, Paul assisted Smith in eating the pie. The Pelicans struggled to chase the points, Booker responded with multiple points, and Paul again assisted Smith's three-point shot. Both teams were efficient in their offense, with Booker scoring on a jump shot followed by two more free throws to give the Suns an 11-point lead. The two teams' offensive efficiency declined in the second quarter, with Hart scoring free throws and assisting teammates to hit three-pointers. The Suns' offense stalled, With Smith injured and resting, Paul hit a mid-range shot, Bridges hit a three-pointer, and Johnson hit a three-pointer. The Pelicans then continued to chase the points, with Paul hitting a mid-range shot, Hart hitting a three-pointer, Graham winning, And Booker hitting a three-pointer to give the Suns a 10-point lead.
The Pelicans played hard, but the gap lay here. Varan continued to score inside in the third quarter, Graham also hit a three-pointer, and Hart broke through and scored six points. Booker immediately hit a jump shot and then hit another three-point shot. Varan scored from the basket and Graham counter-attacked to score, causing Booker to foul 4. The Pelicans chased the score again, and Paul scored with great difficulty and could also assist in scoring than Yongbo. Bridges hit a three-point shot, and Paul did the same. After Johnson hit a three-pointer, he led by another 13 points. Payne and Payton can also score points, and the Suns still maintain an 11-point difference.
Entering the fourth quarter, Graham hit a three-pointer, Ingram also scored on a jumper, and then continued to score, Bridges scored to stop the bleeding, and Booker also hit a three-point shot. However, the Pelicans are still chasing points, and Graham is only two points in a three-pointer. Paul scored better than Jombo inside, Ingram scored on free throws, and Paul scored more than Jyombo. Booker also rushed to hit a three-point shot to lead by eight points again. After Varan scored, Booker jumped on a jumper, and then Paul also assisted 2+1 than Jyombo, followed by a three-point assist for Bridges. Graham responded with three points, Ingram hit three points, Johnson scored three points, and then Booker shot, and the game lost suspense.
The Suns weren't in great shape this game, Booker played well in the first quarter, but suffered fouls later, and the shooting percentage in the second and third quarters dropped. And their bench is not very good, after all, without the main players such as Crowder, Shamet, Ayton and McGee, the depth of the lineup is not so strong. Missing so many people, they were also chased by the Pelicans, and they were chased many times. However, the difference in strength between the two teams is still obvious, and even if there are so many people missing, the Suns finally won the game. And Paul is undoubtedly very relaxed, he is now playing too easily at the Suns, although he got two doubles of data, but there are not many shots, not at key moments, Paul is not very willing to shoot.
Paul didn't play a lot of time and played easily on the court. Seeing Paul play like this, I have to sigh that he is better than Wiggins! Paul holds $120 million for 4 years and doesn't have to shoot much on the court. Even so, Paul was worth the contract. Although he does not score high, his role on the court is obvious, and it is under his assists that people like Smith and Bi yongbo can play. Seeing Paul play like this, old Zhan can only envy, James is older than Paul, the result is that James is much harder than Paul, and the veteran should actually play like Paul.