On April 23, Beijing time, when the Suns attacked the core Booker high hanging the exemption card, the 36-year-old Paul shouldered the heavy responsibility of leading the team to go out. In this campaign, Paul contributed a double-double of 28 points and 14 assists, and there was no mistake in the whole game, especially the consecutive key balls in the final stage of the final quarter, plus the continuous free throw victory in the last minute, he scored 19 points in the 7 of 10 in the final quarter, becoming the number one contributor to the Suns' win, and also making Booker, who watched the game, smile and blossom.
It is worth mentioning that Paul has created a number of milestones in this campaign:
First, Paul completed 51 assists in his playoff career in double-doubles, surpassing the Lone Rangers' current coach Kidd 50 times to rise to the fourth place in NBA playoff history, behind only Magic Johnson with 143, Stockton with 100 and Nash with 54.
Second, Paul broke through the 1100 assists milestone in the playoffs, becoming the 7th man in playoff history and the 3rd person in the playoffs except James and Rondo.
Third, Paul's playoff total exceeded the 1,000-goal milestone, becoming the 34th in history, and the total playoff goals surpassed the Celtics legendary Ringer Bill Russell by 1,003 goals and Curry's 1,005 goals, rising to the 33rd place in NBA playoff history.
Fourth, Paul's playoff goals surpassed Hall of Famer Dantley's 496 free throws to rise to the 52nd highest number of free throws in NBA playoff history, the previous being Ray Allen's 508 free throws.
Can the Suns advance to the Finals for two consecutive seasons? When the Sun Core Booker was injured in the first round of G2 battle, it undoubtedly gave the Suns a blow in the head, after all, the lack of Booker greatly weakened the Suns' offensive power. In the last game, the Suns were suppressed on the offensive end, and they were unable to contain the attacks of Ingram and McCollum, resulting in a regrettable loss.
Now entering the first round of G3, Paul's performance in the first half was average, he only scored 7 points on the offensive end with only 2 of 5 crosshairs, but the organizational end sent 8 assists, especially the constant connection Ayton's interior line, allowing Ayton to shoot 21 points on 10 of 14 in the two quarters, and also led the Suns to lead by 11 points in the first half.
However, the Suns' disadvantage on the offensive end gradually manifested, they were stubbornly chased by the Pelicans in the second half, and they were chased to a lead of only 2 points in the first three quarters. Although Paul sent four more assists in the third quarter, he only scored 2 points on 1-of-3 in a single quarter and failed to stand up on the offensive end.
By the start of the final quarter, the Pelicans rebounded, and Paul finally broke out again to provoke the offensive beam, just like his performance in the final quarter of the first round of G1. Paul hit consecutive key balls in the final stages to help the Suns stubbornly reverse the score, and gradually extended the advantage in the final moments. Although the Pelicans still tried to fight back, Paul continued to use free throws to kill the game to lead the team to victory, and he single-handedly fired 19 points in the last quarter, once again showing the value of the veteran.
(Text/Drunken Floating Life)