Ni VT ROMANO
PATULOY ang pamamayagpag ni Chris Paul sa 17 seasons niya sa liga at muli niyang pinatunayan na may ibubuga pa siya.
Katunayan, nakapagtala siya ng 14 for 14 — most field goals without a miss in an NBA playoff game — sa panalo ng Phoenix Suns kontra Pelicans, 115-109, sa New Orleans (Biyernes sa Manila).
“I had no clue,” sabi ng dating Pelicans na si Paul, may 33 points at eight assists sa series-ending game ng dalawang team na nagtapos sa 4-2 record.
“I think maybe at halftime I said I might have to shoot a little more. But throughout the game, I was literally managing the game. I wasn’t taking heat checks. I don’t shoot enough to have heat
checks,” dagdag niya.
Hinabol ng top-seeded Suns ang 10-point halftime deficit upang wakasan ang Pelicans, at harapin sa second round ang Dallas Mavericks.
Para kay Suns coach Monty Williams, hindi niya malaman kung saan ihahanay ang achievements ni Paul bilang scorer, leader at game manager.
“I can’t even say because he’s done it so many times,” wika ni Williams. “This is probably No. 1 because it just happened, and I knew how special New Orleans is to him. He cares deeply about the city and the fans and the children. It’s probably No. 1 because it just happened.”
Hindi naman naitago ni Devin Booker ang paghanga sa kanyang veteran teammate. “Nobody’s seen this — 14 for 14. This is the first time for all of us.”
Bumalik si Booker mula sa hamstring injury at naipasok ang late 3-pointer, mula sa assist ni Paul, na nagbigay sa Suns ng abante at panalo.
Una rito, pumasok ang reverse baseline layup ni Brandon Ingram para lumamang ang New Orleans, 104-103, sa nalalabing 2:00 minuto.
Sa sumunod na play, nahanap ni Paul si Booker sa left wing at walang alinlangang pumukol ng tres upang maagaw ng Phoenix ang manibela, 106-104 sa nalalabing 1:42 sa laro.
Siyam na araw lumiban si Booker makaraang magtamo ng right hamstring injury matapos kumamada ng 31 points sa first half ng Game 2. Nagtala siya ng 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting, five rebounds at three assists sa 32 minuto sa Game 6.
“It was really nice to have him back,” sambit ni Paul. “All that pressure they’ve been doing against us the whole series, especially the last three games, was tough. (Booker) was on that left wing, and I don’t know if they forgot or didn’t realize who he was, but I saw how they were shifted.”
“It caught me off guard, too,” pag-amin naman ni Booker. “You don’t normally get clean looks like that.”
Nag-ambag si Deandre Ayton ng 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting para sa Suns.
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