Paul pulled up for a 15-footer with 10:27 left to play over Michael Porter Jr. But when winning time came, Paul delivered with back-to-back buckets that punctuated a 6-0 Phoenix run to start the final frame. Paul missed each of the three shots he fired in the third quarter. Bridges poured in 11 points during Phoenix’s near-flawless third-quarter run, as the Suns knocked down 11-for-19 from the field and 4-for-7 from 3-point range. Trailing by 10 points at the 8:13 mark of the third quarter, Phoenix sped off on a 28-9 run over the next 7:02 with Bridges nailing a 26-footer off a Payne assist to give the Suns a nine-point lead going into the fourth quarter.īridges connected with laser-like precision in the third quarter, hitting 5-for-5 from the field and 2-for-2 from deep for 13 points of his postseason career-high 23 points.
Whether it was Deandre Ayton rolling to the rim or Phoenix's shooters spotting up, Denver seemed to have few answers. Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder, the grit that he brought to our team, Cam Payne we have a real team, a great coaching staff and at the end of the day, we’re just having fun.” Y’all getting to see stuff that we already knew. Now, everybody is just getting a chance to see it. “Not impressed or surprised, just I’m happy that everybody is getting to see this on a national stage,” Paul said. Paul finished with 21 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter alone on 6-for-6 shooting with 11 assists and only one turnover before dishing one last pass to his Suns teammates in the postgame on-court interview.
The “Point God” seized control in the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals to push Phoenix to a 1-0 lead in this best-of-seven series by way of a 122-105 win over the Denver Nuggets. That’s a daunting challenge for most teams, but most squads aren’t steered by Chris Paul. Chris Paul finishes with 21 points while dishing out 11 assists in a Game 1 win over the Nuggets.Īn 11-4 burst at tip-off, 10-3 at the beginning of the second quarter, and a 12-3 burst to begin the third quarter.