Chris Paul Still Crucial to Phoenix's Success
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It wasn't easy, but the Phoenix Suns pulled away when it mattered most.
Their 128-118 overtime victory over the San Antonio Spurs marked their fifth win in six games, and despite nearly blowing a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter, Monty Williams' crew found a way to dig deep in OT to leave town with a victory.
“We beat them pretty good the last time we played here. They’re not just a prideful team. They have championship DNA all through the organization. We knew any Popovich-coached team is going to evaluate and look at things they can do better," said Williams following the game.
"They did a really good job of attacking the paint in the second half. They did it in the first, but they didn't convert as much. We gave up a 34-point fourth quarter and we just didn’t score the ball, especially the bench group we had in the first six minutes of the fourth. We didn’t score efficiently, and we turned it over and allowed them to get out and transition. By our account, they had way more transition points than this shows.
"So that’s a point of focus for us that we have to give attention to. I told our guys it was a quality win because of the way we beat them last time and we knew they were going to come back with way more effort and focus.”
It was a night where Chris Paul's 31 points led the way, something Phoenix wasn't exactly used to with a near healthy lineup. Even with Devin Booker still out of the mix, Paul hasn't led the team in scoring since Jan. 4.
Even in the twilight of his career, Paul has shown a recent resurgence that can't be ignored despite a slow start to the season statistically before battling injury.
“When you have [Cameron Johnson], Mikal [Bridges], and [Deandre Ayton] rolling like that, if you blitz them, then we can find guys. So, they didn’t blitz tonight and Chris [Paul] just had it going," said Williams.
"Deandre was freeing him up to get to his spots and he was aggressive. At the end of the third, I was going to take him out with three minutes and he was like, ‘Coach, can I finish?’ and I was like, ‘Go ahead.’ Then he ran off a few more buckets. So, it’s good to see him get his legs back. We’re going to try our best to keep him as fresh as we can.”
Paul's 31 points was the highest mark of the season for the floor general, and his 11 assists on Saturday gave him his fourth double-double in a row.
Booker is set to return soon and the Suns will eventually get back to full health. They're now back to over .500 with a 26-25 record and will see a nice two-game homestand against the Toronto Raptors and Atlanta Hawks next week.
Despite so much noise around his play, health and everything else, Paul's managed to remind everyone just how crucial he's been to Phoenix's success.
