The NBA playoffs continue, just concluded a battle of Tennoyama, the Grizzlies against the Timberwolves, Morant staged a super god play in the final quarter, he single-handedly scored 18 points, a layup killed the game, followed by the Pelicans against the Suns, also the much-anticipated Battle of Tianwangshan, the first 4 games of the two teams scored a 2:2 draw, the absence of core Player Booker had too much impact on the Suns, after he suffered a right hamstring strain, the Suns can win this game, Paul's play was crucial.
Suns starters: Cameron Johnson, Paul, Ayton, Bridges, Crowder, Pelicans starters: Ingram, Hayes, Valanciunas, Herbert Jones, McCollum. After the start of the first quarter, the Suns were in good shape on the offensive end, Ayton hit 4 of his first 5 shots, Paul also got into the state early, offense, organization, defense grabbed, 3 points and 3 assists on 3-of-3 shooting and had a perfect data for steals, the Suns took a 17-11 lead, the Pelicans called out a timeout, Ingram picked a basket to score, and then the three-point projection was also there, McCollum hit the basket, and the Pelicans narrowed the point difference to 3 points.
At the end of the game, the Pelicans' offense suddenly came to a standstill, the Suns' tight pressing caused the Pelicans' mistakes, Payne made two foul shots, Payne snatched the shot and hit again, Hayes passed the ball wrong, Payne's three-point projection was again, the more unfavorable for the Suns was Payne's three fouls, Paul's big slalom foul made two free throws, the first quarter was played, the Suns led the Pelicans 32:20. Paul scored eight points in the first quarter, Ayton eight points, and Payne, who came off the bench, scored seven points. The Pelicans performed poorly as a whole, with six turnovers in a single quarter.
At the beginning of the second quarter, the Pelicans made another mistake, Paul picked a basket to score, McCollum scored a basket, Paul hit a jump shot again, Graham missed three points, Paul threw another shot, McCollum jumped in response, Ayton scored consecutively, the point difference came to 15 points, the Pelicans called out a timeout, Alvarado hit a three-point shot to help the Pelicans stop the bleeding, McCollum also had three points, Holliday, Cameron Johnson responded with a three-pointer, and the Pelicans trailed the Suns by 13 points after halftime.
In the second half, the Suns still maintained a 10-point lead, but the team's two toughsters, Claude and Payne, led five fouls in succession, and 10 points also became a hurdle for the Pelicans, McGee hit the basket, Shamet jumped shot, the point difference came to 14 points, at the end of the third quarter, Ingram scored consecutively, the Pelicans narrowed the point difference to 8 points, Payne responded strongly with three points, and after the third quarter, the Suns led by 11 points.
The Pelicans narrowed the gap to 7 points at one point in the final quarter, Paul received a technical foul because he was dissatisfied with the referee's blowing penalty, Paul hit a mid-range shot to stabilize the situation, Ingram made a mistake, Paul made a foul in the big loop and made two free throws, McCollum responded to the basket, Payne led to his 6th offense, Cameron Johnson scored a dunk, Herbert Jones missed three points, Bridges made two fouls, the game lost suspense, and the Suns won the Battle of King Mountain, leading 3:2. McCollum played out of 7-of-22 in this game, Ingram shot 7-of-19 and 22 points, The Suns' Paul had 22 points, 10 assists and 3 steals, bridges had 31 points, 5 boards, 2 assists, 2 assists, 4 blocks, and 31 points was also a new playoff career high.