In the first round of the playoffs, Paul once again played the legend of the point guard god. Due to Booker's injury, the Suns' first-round showdown was once dragged into the Battle of Tenno-san. The Pelicans faced a life-and-death battle at home, and although Booker made an early comeback, the Suns were destined to encounter desperate fighting spirit from their younger opponents.
In the first three quarters, the two sides were glued as always, and although the Pelicans had once led by double digits, the score was ultimately very close. When the last quarter came, the Pelican's life-and-death battle began to become extremely intense. At this time, Paul was silently maintaining a data, and the last verse created a historical miracle.
At the beginning of the final quarter, Ayton and Paul opened fire inside and outside, and after a gorgeous combination, the score was approached. The two sides entered the crucial moment of the last 5 minutes with a difference of 1 point. Ayton hit an air-to-air dunk, Booker's three-pointer pulled out, the Suns took the advantage in 1:42, and after Paul hit the emergency stop jumper in 28.7 seconds, the series was decided.
In the game, Paul shot 14 of 14 from the field, 1 of 1 from three-point range, and 4-of-4 from the free throw line for 33 points, 5 boards and eight assists. In this battle, Paul rewrote the historical record, surpassing the historical record of 12 shots in a single playoff game held by Nene and McHale. In the regular season, Chamberlain once shot 18 and 16 shots in a single game, and Barry Howell had a single game of 14 shots.
In contrast, Chamberlain, Nene and McHale are all inside stars, as a small player with a height of only 1.83 meters, Paul's data is obviously more important. It is no exaggeration to say that even in the next few decades, no one may be able to break this record. In the first round of the showdown, Paul became the real core when Booker was absent. He averaged 36.8 minutes per game and averaged 22.3 points, 4.3 boards, 11.3 assists and 1.8 steals, shooting 56.7 percent from the field.
As an opponent, the Pelicans' performance in the first round was not bad. They struggled to break into the playoffs from the playoffs, challenging the league's number one Suns in the first round, but the Pelicans lived up to expectations and fought to the G6 for life. After the game, Pelicans coach Willie Green and Paul hugged and greeted each other, and couldn't help but burst into tears. His playoff glory moment was thus ended by his friends.
Willie Green was an assistant coach for the Suns last season and was once Paul's teammate, which is one of the important reasons why Paul joined the Suns. After the playoffs began, Willie Green joked, "In this series, Paul and I cut ties and had to act as if we weren't brothers." ”
Fighting a battle to cry opponents, the point guard god is too fierce.