Chris Paul is headed to the NBA Finals, finally, in his 16th NBA season. The future Hall of Fame inductee has long been considered the best and longest-tenured player in the league not to have even tasted the NBA’s championship round, and after coming so close in Houston and coming up short over and over in L.A., Paul was able to make it in Phoenix.
On Wednesday night, much as he did in Game 4 in Denver, Paul was determined to put an end to the Western Conference Finals. He struggled in his first three games of the series after missing a week following a positive COVID-19 test, but he found his shot and found his rhythm back at Staples Center for what has to be one of his finest performances of his career, considering the circumstances. Paul finished with 41 points, eight assists, and zero turnovers in Game 6, shooting 16-for-24 from the field including a ridiculous 7-for-8 night from three-point range.
Most of Paul’s damage came in the second half, when he absolutely took over late in the third quarter after L.A. cut the Phoenix lead to seven. Paul scored eight in a row for the Suns — with some vintage flopping shenanigans in the middle with DeMarcus Cousins — as he lifted the Phoenix lead back to 14 going to the fourth.
Chris Paul pulls up from distance to give him the Suns last 8 points in the 3rd quarter!@Suns 97@LAClippers 83
4th quarter of Game 6 coming up on ESPN pic.twitter.com/gaVUuKunEb
— NBA (@NBA) July 1, 2021
That onslaught continued in the fourth quarter as he was able to get wherever he wanted and make whatever shot he wanted, inside or out, as he dismantled the Clippers to help the Suns pull away to a 130-103 win.
CP3 uses the dribble to get to his spot! He's got 18 PTS in the 2nd half, 28 on the night!
Game 6 on ESPN pic.twitter.com/hiGBHAtQpC
— NBA (@NBA) July 1, 2021
CP3 steps back and this time it's a 4-point play… he's got 32 PTS!@Suns 111@LAClippers 92
4th quarter of Game 6 on ESPN pic.twitter.com/ptlTyIrZKe
— NBA (@NBA) July 1, 2021
37 POINTS FOR CP3!
— NBA (@NBA) July 1, 2021
After that last three, he got the Clippers to finally break, as Patrick Beverley snapped and got ejected for shoving him to the ground from behind, and not long after the reserves entered the game as L.A. waved the white flag.
Patrick Beverley was ejected after shoving Chris Paul from behind. pic.twitter.com/z0GFL1tb6J
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 1, 2021
After the game, an emotional Paul would talk about how his mindset was simple: don’t lose this game. For someone who has seen 3-1 leads evaporate and been a part of the worst shooting Game 7 in NBA history in Houston, the last thing he was going to do was let this come down to one game where shooting variance could send him home again. He was hot and he was going to ride that hot hand to the Finals, achieving a career-long pursuit in the process.
https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1410448132672872449
The Suns will now get to rest up for a week as they await the winner of the Bucks-Hawks series that is tied 2-2 on its way back to Milwaukee with at least two more games to play this week. With how they are playing defensively, and Paul and Booker finally getting right in Game 6 offensively, they’ll have a great shot at bringing Phoenix its first NBA championship against whichever foe they face.
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