Chris Paul’s Latest Fourth Quarter Masterclass Carried The Suns To A Game 3 Win Over The Pelicans

For the second time in the three games he’s played against the New Orleans Pelicans this postseason, Chris Paul came up huge down the stretch of the fourth quarter to carry the Phoenix Suns to a win. Paul had 19 of his 28 points on the night in the game’s final frame, and despite the feisty Pelicans repeatedly responding to an electric hometown crowd, Phoenix was able to take a 2-1 series lead by way of a 114-111 win.

The story of the first half was the play of Suns big man Deandre Ayton, who helped the team take a 59-48 lead into halftime. The former No. 1 overall pick was immense through the game’s opening 24 minutes, leading all scorers with 21 points on 10-for-14 shooting. While the Pelicans hammered Phoenix on the glass — they held a 28-16 rebounding advantage heading into the locker room — Ayton’s seven boards led all players.

He wasn’t the only Suns big man to have a huge first half, as the team’s second-leading scorer was JaVale McGee, who pitched in nine off the bench. Paul nearly had a double-double at halftime — seven points, eight assists — while Landry Shamet showed off his hops on a few occasions.

After their hot shooting won the Pelicans Game 2, both Brandon Ingram and C.J. McCollum fell back to earth a little bit to start Game 3. Ingram had 13 and McCollum had 12 at halftime, but the pair combined to shoot 8-for-22 from the field and 2-for-9 from three. And outside of 11 first half points from Devonte’ Graham, no one else on New Orleans scored more than four.

The Pelicans also found themselves shorthanded for the second half, as Jaxson Hayes was tossed from the game for a Flagrant 2 foul on Jae Crowder. But in the third quarter, they were able to inch closer and closer to the Suns thanks in part to a 12-0 run, take the lead for brief spells, and find themselves down by only two as the frame came to a close.

Unsurprisingly, both Ingram and McCollum were able to start cooking — the former had 10 points in the quarter while the latter had nine.

Rookie wing Herbert Jones, whose defensive tenacity and versatility have turned him into an important member of the team’s core, gave them seven points in the quarter, including a dunk that came off of his ability to force a turnover.

The early part of the fourth featured Jose Alvarado, the 6-foot undrafted rookie guard, ripping off seven straight points for New Orleans, including several buckets that gave the Pelicans the lead.

And then, the Chris Paul Midrange Jumpers started coming in waves. Paul, much like he did at the end of Game 1, started getting to his spots seemingly at will and buried jumper after jumper, landing the kinds of body blows that hurt just a little bit more in the late rounds of a prize fight. The metronomic quality that has made Paul the greatest point guard of his generation was once again on display — with Devin Booker sidelined due to a hamstring injury, Paul grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and settled things down when the Pelicans were giving the Suns all they could hand.

Paul and Ayton both scored 28 points en route to a double-double — the former had 14 assists, the latter had 17 rebounds. Mikal Bridges added 17 points and made all nine of his attempts from the free throw line, while McGee had 15 off the bench. Ingram’s 34 points and seven rebounds were tops for the Pelicans, with McCollum having 30, seven assists, four rebounds, and two steals. Graham and Jones both scored 12.

Game 4 between the Suns and Pelicans tips off at 9:30 p.m. ET on Sunday night, with the game being broadcast on TNT.