Paul confronts Doncic
In his fourth season, Luka Doncic finally broke through the first round of the playoffs, but this time, his goal was not just the Western Conference semifinals. This season's Lone Ranger, with the league's top defense, three-point shooting, is directly chasing the Houston Rockets of the year. In six games in the first round of the playoffs, they hit 93 three-pointers, averaging 15.5 three-pointers per game. Doncic plays a lot like James Harden, and this lone ranger is also very similar to the Rockets of that year. That rocket, Paul was familiar with.
The Suns also had a lot of trouble in the first round of the playoffs, but Chris Paul stepped forward again and again, giving us a glimpse of the style of the league's first point guard. On the stage of the Western Conference semifinals, the Suns will take on the Lone Rangers. This round of the series, facing Doncic, the contest between the old and new point guards, is definitely a rare good play.
Doncic gave it his all
Doncic stepped up in the first quarter, scoring 14 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists on 5-of-9 shooting, but the other four starters only added up to 2 points, fortunately, Kleber on the bench hit 3 three-pointers, but the Lone Ranger only scored 25 points, and the Suns bombed 35 points, including Paul with only 2 points and 2 rebounds. After returning from the second quarter, Doncic had another 12 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, but the other four starters combined only scored 9 points, Kleber hit 2 more three-pointers, and the Lone Ranger scored 31 points in a single quarter.
Even so, the Suns were extending their lead, with Paul only shooting 2 shots but hitting all of them for 5 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists. At the end of the half, the Suns led the Lone Rangers by 13 points 69-56. In the second half, Doncic's feel declined, only 6 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists on 7 shots, the Lone Ranger only scored 23 points in a single quarter, the Suns seized the opportunity, Paul took 2 of 2 shots and then 5 points, the team blossomed more points, and the single quarter bombed 27 points, successfully expanding the point difference to 17 points, and the game basically lost suspense.
After returning from the last quarter, Doncic worked hard, shooting 5 of 5, 2 of 2 three-pointers, 13 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in a single quarter, and also sent a big hat, and both offensive and defensive ends were poured into it. Brunson also had eight points, one rebound and two assists, and Dinwiddie scored the key five points, and the team narrowed the gap to six points at one point. However, Paul also had 7 points and 1 rebound, helping the Suns refuse to reverse, and finally successfully defeated the Lone Ranger 121-114.
Paul was relaxed and freehand
19+5+3, only 28 minutes! Suns 1-0 Lone Ranger, Paul ushered in a sweet moment. The Phoenix Suns won the game, leading 1-0 in the series. Chris Paul was tired and miserable in the first round of the playoffs, but now he has a sweet moment because his teammates are so good. In this game, Monti only let the exposure play for 28 minutes, 7 of 13 shots to get 19 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, easy to write. Ayton had 25 points and eight rebounds, Booker had 23 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, Bridges had 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists, Crowder also had 11 points, eight rebounds and three assists, and Cameron Johnson on the bench had 17 points and five rebounds.
Doncic, by contrast, is a bit unsupportable. After 44 minutes of hard fighting, he shot down 45 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists, shooting 15-of-30 from the field, and for a defender, he couldn't ask for more. But in this game, Doncic's best helper is Kleber on the bench, who has 19 points and 1 rebound on 5-of-8 three-point shooting. Brunson shot 6-of-16 and had just 13 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, Smith had 15 points and 6 rebounds, and Dinwiddie had 8 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists. The Lone Ranger wants to make the series full of suspense, so in the next game, Doncic needs more helpers.