The Western Conference semifinals begin
The Sun, the league's number one, ran into trouble in the first round of the playoffs, and the young New Orleans Pelicans forced the Suns into desperate situations again and again. However, Chris Paul once again showed the style of the former league's first point guard, with 19 points in the last quarter of the two games, 14 of 14 shooting in the last game, and 33 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists, leading the Suns to eliminate the Pelicans 4-2 and successfully reach the stage of the Western Conference Semifinals. This trip to the playoffs is Paul's best chance to win the championship, and he doesn't allow any accidents to happen.
However, on the stage of the Western Conference semifinals, the Phoenix Suns have to face the Dallas Lone Rangers. Doncic's performance in the playoffs has always been there for all to see, and combined with Brunson's outburst and the team's crazy three-point shooting, it's enough to cause the Suns more trouble. How will Paul respond this time?
The league is back first
At the beginning of the first quarter, Doncic showed unparalleled personal strength, shooting 5 of 9, 3 of 3 from three-point range, and got 14 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, but the other four starters only scored 2 points in total, although Kleber on the bench scored 9 points on 3-of-3 3 shots, but it was obviously not enough. The Lone Rangers scored just 25 points in the first quarter, while the Suns blasted down 35 points. Booker also had 13 points, six rebounds and four assists, Ayton had nine points on 4-of-6 shooting, and Chris Paul didn't make a difference at all.
Paul only had 2 shots in the first quarter, got 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block, and his teammates played so well that he naturally played health basketball. After returning from the second quarter, the Lone Ranger continued to chase, And Crowder stepped forward, 2 three-pointers plus a shot, one person scored 8 points, and then staged a kicking game, which made Doncic miserable, and thus received a first-level malicious foul. The Lone Ranger seized the opportunity and, in a minute's time, played a wave of 9-0 small climaxes, successfully narrowing the point difference to 4 points.
The Sun had no choice but to quickly replace chris Paul. As soon as Paul returned, the situation on the court was different, the Suns returned to attack, and Paul scored 5 consecutive points to widen the point difference to 13 points again. Doncic staged the Great Slalom with two penalties. Even so, at the end of the half, the Phoenix Suns led the Dallas Mavericks by 14 points at 69-56.
Paul hasn't had the strength yet
Doncic's personal performance was impeccable, with 26 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists on 8-of-18 shooting, and his personal performance was impeccable, Kleber had 16 points on 6-of-5 three-point shooting, but even so, the Lone Ranger was 13 points behind at the end of the half, and what was even more frustrating was that Chris Paul had not yet made a start. Paul only had 4 shots in the first half, hit 3 goals, got 7 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, plus or minus +24 was the highest in the game, and it was a long way ahead, the second was Ayton's +12, from here you can see how good Paul's influence on the game is.
Booker exploded with 15 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, and Ayton exploded with 19 points and 1 rebound, shooting 9-of-12 from the field. In addition, the Suns' role players also played well, with Crowder having 11 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists on 4-of-5 shooting, Cameron Johnson having 7 points and 3 rebounds, and Payne having 6 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists. It has to be said that the familiar league number one team is back. The Lone Ranger's problem is clear, that is, except for Doncic and Kleber, the team does not have a third scoring point, and the third highest scorer is Bullock, who has 4 points and 2 rebounds on 1-of-4 shooting. Brunson had just three points and one rebound on 1-of-6 shooting, and Dinwiddie scored no point on 0-of-4 shooting.