The Phoenix Suns are headed to the 2021 NBA Finals after demolishing the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals with future Hall of Famer Chris Paul leading at the helm.
The 36-year-old Paul would punch in 41 points, making him the oldest player in NBA history to score 40+ in a closeout game. Michael Jordan previously held the record at age 35 in 1998.
CP3 would additionally boast eight sweet assists, four impressive rebounds, and three fiery steals for the night.
Suns mission Wednesday night was simple, win the WCF and do it in 6.
“This is what we set out to get tonight, we didn’t want to go back to Phoenix without it, ” Devin Booker said when asked what it meant to have the WCF trophy and a potential Finals berth on the line.
Booker, who Paul previously referred to as the ‘oldest 24-year-old he ever met’, clocked in 22 points, seven rebounds, and four assists to put his own stamp on the game.
Book would display a show of complete confidence, pulling up and hitting shots when needed. He’d punish the likes of his opponents with his ability to get through the lane and release his perfected floater that’s simple, but effective as if there weren’t five NBA challengers surrounding him. It was almost as if Book was in practice simply hitting the fundamentals. The ‘poise’ Suns head coach Monty Williams described that Booker plays with certainly coming out.
The game’s ultimate destination seemed to be previewed in the 3rd quarter as the Suns held a double-digit lead for its majority, forcing two timeouts and at one point leading by 17 (89-72). A late ten-point run, that would narrow the gap from 89-72 to 89-82, would prove to do nothing but offer the Clippers crowd false hope as a veteran Paul would quickly disrupt all celebration, closing the quarter with his tenacity and 3-point presence.
Paul would swish a pair of beauties from distance, the first a 26-foot jumper, and the second a 28-foot jewel, putting his team’s offense back into gear towards a 97-83-point lead.
Despite having home court advantage and their season on the line, the closest the Clippers ever got to a game lead came only twice, once when the score was tied at 2-2 and the second tied at 9-9, both occurring early in the first quarter.
After a career with no Finals appearance, Chris Paul was motivated to take his team all the way and was met with communal weapons that seemed to want it with every fiber they had to offer.
Whatever team meeting was had, the Kawhi Leonard-less Clippers might have wanted to take part.
Entering the final quarter up 14 and on nothing but gas pedals, Phoenix could all but taste the win. CP3 would dominate the floor from every angle, a pull-up jumper here, a driving layup there.
One of his sweetest 4th quarter performances, however, came in the form of a 28-foot step back 3 over the head of Reggie Jackson. Paul would fall on his back following the shot, making a scapegoat out of Jackson as he picked up the shooting fall allowing for Paul to seal a 4-point play. The Suns’ energy was at a high! Torrey Craig couldn’t even contain himself as he stood over Paul pounding Paul’s chest in excitement.
Possession after possession, the Suns would strike. The defensive end, mutually, was left at no expense. Deandre Ayton would offer his 6’11 250 lbs. frame to block a shot when needed while following up with crucial defensive rebounds. A skill that came as a unit in the final quarter as Paul, Torrey Craig, and Jae Crowder all racked up their share of boards. If the ball came off the goal in Clippers territory, nothing was touching it but orange and purple. Phoenix wanted complete control! Outsourcing Los Angeles 33-20 in the 4th quarter, they had just that.
A separate energy brewed on the home team as Patrick Beverly let his frustrations get the best of him, following a timeout call forced by another one of his CP3’s 3-point jewels, Pat Bev would give Paul a hefty shove from behind, sending himself out of the game and his team into further defeat.
With just under three minutes left on the clock and the score at 121-100, head coach Ty Lue would waive the white flag and send starters Paul George, Reggie Jackson, and Marcus Morris Sr., to the send lines, bringing their season to an end.
With the final score of 130-103, the Suns successfully sealed their ticket to the NBA Finals, ending an almost 30-year franchise drought. Phoenix’s last Finals appearance was in 1993 when the Charles Barkley led Suns faced a Michael Jordan led Chicago Bulls. In 2021, it will be Chris Paul led Suns to lead the next charge.
After 16 years in the league, multiple playoff setbacks and five franchises, Paul would Pass Go, advancing to his first Finals appearance. Doing so in the City of Angels would only add a sort of poetic justice as Paul spent six years with the Clippers aiming for the same goal. After the game, he’d even give a shout out to longtime Clippers diehard Billy Crystal before referring to the franchise as his ‘family’.
For Paul it’s been a long time coming, and when asked what it meant to hear “Chris Paul is in the NBA finals”, the 11-time All Star simply said, “It sounds Damn Good… Damn Good.”
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