On Wednesday night, the Suns took on the Nuggets in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals. Chris Paul led the way to a big win. Paul put up some video game numbers scoring 17 points as well as grabbing three rebounds but by far the most impressive stat was the casual 15 assists with zero turnovers. Paul made it look easy out there as he paved the way for a 123-98 Phoenix victory over Denver.
According to NBC Sports, “Paul’s 15 assists and zero turnovers has been matched in only two playoff games by only Magic Johnson and Paul himself (in 2008 with New Orleans).” Of course, Chris Paul did not do it alone. His young running mate, Devin Booker scored 18 points and the team’s impressive big man Deandre Ayton put up 15 points while also grabbing 10 rebounds.
Another factor that will not be shown by the box score was the Suns’ amazing defense. The Suns forced the Nuggets to cough the ball up 11 times, most of them leading to points on the other end of the court. Phoenix was also dominant in the paint outscoring Denver 44-36. On top of forcing the ball inside the Suns also shot 18/38 (47.4%) from deep while Denver shot 14/43 (32.6%).
Chris Paul and Devin Booker are a killer combo
Just a day after winning the league’s most valuable player award and being only the fifth center to win the award, Nikola Jokić played pretty well. The star posted 24 points, 6 assists, and 13 rebounds but it was just not enough to stop Chris Paul and company from taking a commanding 2-0 series lead.
The Phoenix Suns are now just two wins away from a trip to the Western Conference Finals. The last time a team with Chris Paul made the Western Conference Finals was when the Houston Rockets faced off against the Golden State Warriors in 2018 and lost in seven games, but Paul was injured and did not get the chance to show what he could do on such a big stage.
Any way you look at it Paul and Booker are dangerous together and they are showing the whole basketball world just how good this Suns team really is. Paul proves to be the perfect mentor for Booker, especially in a combo guard role where he can teach the young hotshot to be more of a facilitator when needed, as well as to show him more efficient ways to take over a game when needed.
Phoenix has turned out to be the perfect fit for Chris Paul and it was a great decision to bring him aboard and a smart move by both sides.
