On May 3, Beijing time, in the first game of the Western Conference semifinals, the Suns led by up to 21 points in the whole game, and refused the crazy counterattack of the Lone Ranger in the last quarter, and finally defeated the Lone Ranger to get the opening red. The 36-year-old Paul played less than 30 minutes, contributed 7 of 13 crosshairs, including 2 of 5 three-pointers and 3-of-3 free throws, had 19 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, steals and 1 block, a plus-minus value of a game-high +14, leading the Suns to 10 consecutive wins over the Lone Rangers (including the regular season + playoffs).
When the 36-year-old Paul faces the young Doncic, the contest between the two generations of point guards is undoubtedly more dramatic. On the offensive end, Paul also proved himself able to shoulder the heavy responsibility in the first round, with two final-quarter 19-point performances and a miraculous performance of 14 of G6 games and 14 of 14 playoff history.
Just back to the first showdown with the Lone Ranger, Paul doesn't need to be an offensive arrow compared to Doncic taking on the team's offensive responsibilities. Booker's offensive end picked up, and the offensive pass contributed to the quasi-triple-double data, while Ayton scored 25 points efficiently on 12-of-19, and the Suns played a team attack with multiple points in double figures, which also allowed Paul to take on too much offensive responsibility.
In the entire first half of the game, Paul only had 3 of 4 efficient 7 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block, but in the second half Paul gradually increased the proportion of attack, especially in the last quarter when the lone ranger frantically counterattacked, Paul also scored consecutive points in return, helping the Suns block the opponent's crazy counterattack to win.
It is worth mentioning that Paul is crazy to brush up a number of milestone records:
First, Paul's total career assists in this playoff game have increased to at least 1144, surpassing the record of 1143 by legendary French sports car Parker to rise to no. 5 in the all-time assist list in the playoffs, and only inferior to James in the second place in the current game.
Second, Paul surpassed Curry with 1,033 playoff goals to rise to 29th on the NBA's all-time playoff scoring list, with Garnett's 1,059 goals ahead of him.
Third, Paul played 136 games in the playoffs, surpassing Leonard and Bruce Bowen by 135 games, and equaling Gasol Grand and Cassel 136 games, rising to a tie for 68th in playoff history, the previous one being Dale Davis with 137 games.
Fourth, Paul's playoff free throw count exceeded 600 times, becoming the 60th milestone player in NBA playoff history to take 600 free throws, and also surpassed Moncliffe's 602 free throws to rise to the 59th place in the NBA playoff free throw count list, the previous being The Rainman Kemp's 619 free throws.
Fifth, Paul's total playoff score was 2800 points before the game, surpassing Knicks legend Ewing with 2813 points this game to rise to the 34th place in NBA playoff history, the former being Celtics legend Parrish with 2820 points, and the previous one was Hall of Fame star Barkley with 2833 points.
Sixth, Paul broke through the playoff 5,000-minute milestone in the playoffs and surpassed pistons 2004 champion Prince by 4,977 minutes to become the 47th man in playoff history, the previous being Angie's 5,038 minutes.
Seventh, Paul broke through the 1100-time milestone of his playoff career to become the 42nd man in playoff history, the previous being Parrish, who played iron 1107 times, and then Kidd played iron 1123 times.
(Text/Drunken Floating Life)