Chris Paul goes off in the fourth quarter to end Pelicans' hope of a comeback.
For Paul, that meant closing time had to come early. And that’s what the Suns point guard did, closed the game out, nearly by himself.
Neither should happen. It was one of the most brilliant stretches of basketball in the team's playoff history. On Sunday, he had to score. The Suns ran the pick and roll early and often in the last quarter, and Paul could hear Pelicans coach Willie Green, a former teammate and Suns assistant coach, yelling at his players to go under the screen."It shouldn't surprise anybody," guard Devin Booker said."He's built for these moments."
At his best, Paul can compensate for deficiencies elsewhere, like when the Suns defense regressed a bit in the third quarter. Or giving up 25 offensive rebounds. Or an offense that sputtered in the third quarter when Paul was out.Paul’s backup, Cameron Payne, made just one of six shots Sunday and didn’t have an assist. That has to improve, because the Pelicans are going to continue to play Paul aggressively.
Williams and his players acknowledged shortcomings. The poor rebounding is especially concerning, and Williams said his players were anxious to watch video and correct the problems.
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