By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Chris Paul once again activated his ‘Point God’ mode and dropped an insane 19-point fourth quarter performance to finish the game with 30 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds during the Phoenix Suns’ 110-99 Game 1 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
After New Orleans cut Phoenix’s 20-point lead to just seven in the fourth quarter, Paul knew it was time to take over the game.
Paul sank a long three-pointer that answered a huge step-back jumper by CJ McCollum to stop the Suns’ bleeding and later on torched the Pelicans from all over the perimeter.
The savvy veteran point guard had an insane 10 straight points in just two minutes that helped Phoenix regain momentum and shrug off New Orleans’ comeback hopes.
It was total domination for Phoenix in the first half as the struggling Pelicans squad just couldn’t find answers on how to slow down the Suns’ blazing offense.
Devin Booker shot the lights out in the first half and was the main offensive weapon for Phoenix who just kept on piling up the points with 10 quick points in the first eight minutes of the game.
McCollum tried to keep his team within striking distance and provided short offensive runs whenever Phoenix went out firing but his 25 points weren’t enough to secure the upset.
Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics stunned the Brooklyn Nets, 115-114, off a Jayson Tatum buzzer-beating layup that helped them clinch Game 1 on their home floor.
The Miami Heat also spoiled Trae Young’s streak of huge performances and crushed him and the Atlanta Hawks, 115-91, while the Milwaukee Bucks fended off DeMar Derozan and the Chicago Bulls, 93-86.
For the games today, the Philadelphia 76ers are looking to extend their series lead to 2-0 against the Toronto Raptors, the Dallas Mavericks are anticipating a return from Luka Doncic to try and win a game on their home court against the Utah Jazz, and the Denver Nuggets will seek to equalize their series against the Golden State Warriors.
