On April 18, Beijing time, the NBA playoffs continued, with the Suns home vs Pelicans. It was the biggest group of duels in the first round: the Suns had 64 wins and 18 losses in the regular season, and the Pelicans had 36 wins and 46 losses in the regular season, with a difference of 28 wins between the two teams. On the eastern side, the eighth Eagle and the first Heat are only 10 wins apart. Don't pelicans have a chance at all?
Pelicans coach Willie Green was previously an assistant coach for the Suns and had been a teammate with Paul at the Hornets and Clippers, and he knew Man and Paul well enough. Paul said in an interview: "Willie Green was able to lead the team into the playoffs and I'm really happy for him. We've been teammates, he's coached me, he's like my family. ”
The two teams played each other in the regular season in 4 games, with the Suns winning 3 and losing 1. The Suns have been resting for 7 days, and the Pelicans have just finished playing the play-offs and only have 1 day off. Suns starting: Paul, Booker, Bridges, Crowder, Ayton, Pelicans starting: CJ, Jones, Ingram, Hayes, Valanciunas.
The Pelicans' biggest problem is outside shooting, with 27th in the league in three-point shooting and 28th in the league in three-point shooting. Both CJ and Ingram were limited in this game, with Ingram 2 of 7 in the first quarter and McCollum 7 of 1. Booker scored 10 points on 4-of-8 in the quarter and the Suns quickly took a double-digit lead. From the first quarter alone, the difference in strength between the two teams is too large.
The Suns scored 11 athletic goals in the first quarter and delivered 10 assists, which means that only 1 goal was scored on a singles. In the first quarter, the Suns led by 12 points 28-16. The Pelicans are good enough to fight, with seven frontcourt rebounds in a single quarter and only one for the Suns. But the Pelicans shot just 23.1 percent from the field in the first quarter and 25 percent from three-point range.
Paul's personal desire to attack in the first quarter is not strong, with 0 shots in a single quarter, 0 points, 3 boards and 4 assists. The Suns didn't give the Pelicans a chance, scoring only 3 points three minutes before the second quarter, but the Pelicans didn't take it upon themselves, giving you a chance you don't use it! The Pelicans were all single-handed, trailing by 20 points before the first half was over! Varan was hatped under the basket...
Varan grabbed 9 frontcourt rebounds in the first half, most of them point grabbing, only 3 of 12 shots, either not covered by the basket or blocked by the Suns players! The Pelicans scored 34 points in the first half and trailed by 19 points from 34-53 at halftime! CJ and Ingram combined were 6 of 22, the Pelicans shot 11-of-49 from the team, shooting 22.4 percent from the field, and the baskets were smashed and cried!
The Suns' most aggressive player on the court is Bridges, a Pelicans player on the bridge's defense, totaling 0-of-10! PS: Bridges, Gobert and Smart are the best defensive candidates! Easy to fight again, the Pelicans defense has changed, selectively pinch Booker. The Suns' offense got into trouble, and the Pelicans narrowed the point difference to single digits.
At the end of the third quarter, the Pelicans trailed by 8 points 71-79, and Paul was 11+7+8 in the third quarter. The fourth quarter ushered in the best part of the game: McCollum scored seven straight points and the Pelicans trailed just six points! Paul stepped up to take over the game at this point, making three consecutive three-pointers + 1 layup, scoring 11 points in four minutes to help the Suns lead back to double digits!
In the first quarter Paul made 0 shots and drove his teammates with assists. At the crucial moment of the final quarter, he decisively opened the personal offensive mode, scoring 17 points in the first 6 shots and 6 shots, and the 37-year-old gun brother is still the god of point guards! The Pelicans sparked hopes of chasing points in the second half, but they didn't expect to be doused by Paul's basin of cold water. Morant and Kuzma wrote: "Paul took over the game! ”
In the second half of the final quarter, Paul limited CJ with defense, and the Pelicans were gone! Without CJ's points chasing in the fourth quarter, there probably wouldn't have been Paul's individual scoring performance. At the end of the game, the Suns easily defeated the Pelicans 110-99 to lead 1-0 on aggregate. Paul scored 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the last quarter, too strong!
Paul played 34 minutes today, shooting 12 of 16, 4 of 6 from three points, 2 of 2 from the free throws, 30 points, 7 boards, 10 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, plus or minus +20 the highest in the game! Booker scored 25 points on 8-of-19 shooting, and Ayton had 21 points, nine boards and four blocks. Paul (36 years, 347 days) surpassed Nash (36 years and 85 days) to become the oldest player in playoff history with 30 points and 10 assists!
On the Pelicans side, McCollum had 25 points, 8 boards and 6 assists on 9-of-25 shooting, Ingram had 18 points, 5 boards, 4 assists, 1 break and 5 turnovers on 6-of-17 shooting, and Varan shot 7-of-21 and had 18 points, 25 rebounds and 3 assists. The hit rate of this brother is really worrying! This series, do you think the Pelicans still have a chance?