The NBA playoffs continued, and the Suns' game against the Pelicans G3 officially began. This game is very important for both sides, because whoever wins this game can take the lead and have a psychological advantage. To this end, the two teams played very fiercely after the game began, and both teams at both ends of the attack and defense showed strong enough resilience. At the end of the first quarter, the Pelicans led by one point. In the second quarter, the Suns led by 10 points. Entering the second half, the Pelicans blew the horn of the counterattack and completed the score reversal at one point. However, in the final showdown moment, the Suns used their rich playoff experience to defeat the Pelicans 114-111 to lead the series 2-1.
Objectively speaking, although the Pelicans lost the game in this game, the pelicans' resilience in this game is worth recognizing. Especially when the team was in trouble, the performances of McCollum and Ingram won applause. Among them: McCollum played 40 minutes, 9 of 21 shooting, including 3 of 10 three-pointers, 4 of 8 free throws, and had 25 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals. Ingram played 36 minutes and shot 10-of-17, including 2-of-4 from three-point range and 9-of-10 from the free throw line, and finished with 31 points, seven rebounds, two assists and one block. To put it bluntly, both Ingram and McCollum have tried their best in this game, they have left their best side on the field, and they have really tried their best to win.
Well, after talking about the losing Pelicans, let's talk about the sun that won. Realistically, the suns were able to win the game in booker's absence, and the two players who should be most grateful were undoubtedly Ayton and Paul. One of the two played the role of leader, and the other supported the team's inner line.
First of all, Paul played 39 minutes in this game, 10 of 18 shots, including 1 of 6 from three-point range and 7 of 8 from the free throw line, and got 28 points, 4 rebounds, 14 assists, 1 steal, plus or minus +13. Yes, you read that Paul was giving out 14 assists without a turnover, but from this statistic you can feel how well Paul performed. Paul's performance in this game can be divided into two stages, the first stage is the first three quarters. In the first three quarters, Paul was mainly responsible for the team's tandem work, and under his tandem, the team's attack played very smoothly, and the score was never pulled away. In the final final moment of the second phase, Paul became a super scorer, his three-pointer, his breakthrough layup, and his emergency stop mid-range, each scoring made the Pelicans have no way to do anything.
To borrow a phrase from fans, "Paul is the best player in this league to play the key ball, and Paul is also the best leader in this league". What's more worth mentioning is that Paul also set three NBA records in this game. They are: 1: Paul's playoff assists exceeded the 1100 mark, ranking 7th. 2: Paul's goalscoring exceeded the 1,000 mark. 3: Paul's 51st playoff assist double-double, surpassing Kidd (50) to move up to 4th all-time.
After Paul, let's talk about Ayton. If Paul is the leader, then Ayton is the pillar of the Sun's inner line. Ayton played 34 minutes in this game, shooting 13-of-20, including 1-of-1 from three-point range and 1-of-1 from the free throw line, and got 28 points, 17 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block, plus-minus +18. For Ayton's performance in this game, we can fully describe it as "dominating the inside line". On the offensive end, Ayton has a soft shooting feel and a gorgeous offensive footstep, so Ayton is the most stable scorer on the Inside Line of the Suns on the offensive end. Defensively, Ayton has a keen sense of rebounding and has a wealth of defensive experience, and has performed very well both as a co-defense and as a home defense.
I don't know, what do you think of Ayton's performance in this game? Anyway, the only thing I said about this match is "Ayton is worth the top salary, he punched the skeptics in the face". You know, many fans have questioned Ayton's strength, and Whether Ayton is worth the top salary. Obviously, Ayton proved his worth with strength in this game, and used strength to tell fans that the Sun is not a strong team without him, and it is a joke that the Sun wants to win the championship without him.
The Suns have a 2-1 lead over the Pelicans after winning this game, and the G4 game is even more important for both sides. If the solar wins the G4 then they can take the match point, while if the Pelicans can win the game then the pressure on the sun will be very large.