On April 23, Beijing time, the Pelicans played the Sun at home, and the two sides staged the third match of the series. Booker was absent in this campaign, and the Suns started behind for a while. Hayes was expelled in the second quarter and the Suns seized the turning point of the game to win by 12 points in a single quarter to establish a double-digit advantage. The Pelicans exploded in the second half with a 12-0 twist, with the two sides fighting fiercely until the decisive moment. Paul sent a sign of mid-range to help the Suns seal the win, and the Suns eventually beat the Pelicans 114-111 to lead 2-1 on aggregate.
Match data
Suns: Ayton 28 points, 17 rebounds, Paul 28 points, 14 assists (19 points in the final quarter), Bridges 17 points, McGee 15 points, Crowder 10 points
Pelicans: Ingram 34 points, 7 rebounds, McCollum 30 points and 7 assists, Jones 12 points, Graham 12 points, Varan 6 points and 11 rebounds
Star of the Game: Paul broke out in the final quarter to win the god-level mid-range shot
With only nine points scored in the first three quarters, Paul suddenly made a big splash in the last quarter, and he sent consecutive mid-range shots to let the team continue to score points and finally win with difficulty. In Booker's absence, his key play in the final quarter became the biggest contributor to the team's victory.
Game tidbits
conflict! Hayes overthrew Claude and was expelled, who suffered a technical foul
Highlights of this session
Snap! Shamet ignored Hayes' basket abuse
Unleash an attack frenzy! Graham sent three points
Easy snap! Ingram air cut takeoff
Open hand hit! Ayton sent three points
Still can go in! Ingram hit a difficult jumper
Even send a shot! Paul reigns in the last quarter
Game review
Hayes took the lead in the first quarter, Paul and McCollum scored three points, Ayton sent a throw, Johnson hooked another three-pointer, and the Suns began with a 10-5 lead. Ingram scored five straight points to tie, Jones hit a layup, Ayton scored four straight points, and McCollum scored on a jumper to tie the two sides at 14. Ayton rarely sent a three-pointer and hooked a shot, Jones scored on a layup, McGee scored under the basket, and the Suns led 25-20. Graham then scored from a free throw, McGee sent a hooker, Graham hit another three-pointer, Ingram took off and dunked, and the Pelicans led 29-28 into the second quarter.
Graham hit two consecutive three-pointers in the second quarter and the Pelicans widened the seven-point gap. McGee and Shamet sent consecutive dunks, and then McGee hit a layup and the Suns trailed 34-35. McCollum hit both free throws, Varan threw in, then Bridges hit a jumper, Ayton hooked a shot, Shamet sent a 2+1 dunk, and the Suns rebounded 41-39. Hayes hit two free throws, then Crowder hit a basket, McCollum hit a jumper, Hayes clashed with Crowder, the former was expelled, and the latter hit both free throws to give the Suns a 45-44 lead. The Suns then scored six straight points to open the gap, McCollum made two free throws to stop the bleeding, Payne hit a layup, Ingram hit a jumper, and then Ayton hooked a shot to give the Suns a 55-48 lead. Bridges hit two free throws and Ayton hit a jumper to give the Suns a 59-48 lead into the second half.
McCollum sent a three-pointer in the third quarter, Jones hit a layup and the Pelicans trailed to a six-point gap. The Suns scored seven straight points to build a 66-53 lead. Then the Pelicans suddenly burst into action, blasting out a wave of 12-0 that was instantly approaching the 1-point gap. Bridges sent a 2+1 stop to stop the bleeding, Ingram jump shot to stop the bleeding, Ayton sent a dunk, Paul countered the shot, and the Pelicans trailed 67-73. McCollum hit two free throws, Ingram sent a jumper, Jones countered with a dunk, and the Pelicans trailed to a one-point gap. Ingram hit a jumper and the Pelicans rebounded by one point 74-73. Johnson stopped the bleeding on three points, Graham hit two free throws, McGee hooked a shot, Marshall returned the throw, Payne hit two free throws, and the Suns led 79-77. Ingram hit a jumper and McGee sent a hooker to give the Suns an 81-79 lead into the final quarter.
In the last quarter, Nance Jr. threw a throw to tie, McKee made a strong attack, and McCollum broke through the hit, and the two sides fought to 83. Paul hit two free throws, Alvarado hit a three-pointer, Paul hit a jumper, and then Alvarado broke through and hit again, and the Pelicans rebounded 88-86. Paul hit a shot, Alvarado hit another jumper, Bridges delivered a breakout, Jones made two free throws and one shot, Paul hit another jump shot to give the Suns a 92-91 lead. Alvarado also hit the breakout, Paul sent three consecutive hits and the Suns took a five-point advantage. Ingram hit a mid-range shot and Crowder hit a layup to give the Suns a 102-95 lead. McCollum rebounded from the basket, Paul hit a layup and the Suns led by seven points. Bridges then hit two free throws before the Pelicans trailed by nine points in the final 49 seconds. Ingram hit three consecutive three-pointers and caused a three-point foul, but unfortunately there was little time left in the game, and the Pelicans could not return to the sky.
Both sides started
Suns: Paul, Cameron Johnson, Bridges, Claude, Ayton
Pelicans: CJ McCollum, Herbert Jones, Ingram, Hayes, Valanciunas