Phoenix Suns keeper Chris Paul (3) leads him against Ja Morant, the Memphis Grizzlies goalie, in the first half of an NBA basketball game on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Memphis, Tennessee (AP Photo / Brandon Dill)
If you have Chris Paul on your team, you can make victories like Friday’s surprising fourth-quarter explosion for the Phoenix Suns.
It can also make torture possible, such as Saturday’s 128-97 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
When Paul has found his elite form in recent weeks, there is a certain level of play that the Suns will have almost every night. With the talent that Phoenix has around Paul, following the guard will give excellent results.
On Saturday, that meant not letting an abbreviated Grizzlies team even come close to sniffing out the chance to win.
Head coach Monty Williams praised his team’s focus on business.
“These are the kinds of games where you can lose your rhythm,” he said. “When they have so many guys, you can mess with the game and I didn’t do that tonight.
“I went into a timeout and I was grateful for the way we played in the fourth quarter, because this is a time when you can go into the game, take bad photos, I have to use the timeout to get back there. where we need to be and we didn’t have to do that tonight. ”
Memphis head coach Taylor Jenkins met with his staff Friday night after winning the Detroit Pistons and trying to navigate any precautions needed in his rotation. That’s because the Grizzlies played the fourth game in five nights and the fifth game in seven nights against Phoenix on Saturday.
With Memphis already facing some injuries and absences related to COVID-19 before that, it had to stand a few players against Phoenix to be safe. He was guard Grayson Allen, striker Kyle Anderson and big man Brandon Clarke. Since the Grizzlies are already missing starters Dillon Brooks and Jaren Jackson Jr., they have left their rotation decimated.
Not a good idea with Point God in town.
It really never gets old when you watch Paul take control of a game. He started rolling in the first offensive quarter and was settled from there.
Paul made all five shots in the first half for 13 points. Overall, he had only 16 points and six assists, proof of his excellence that he can do this with a statistical line that suggests anything other than the precise handling of the opposition.
The Suns had a double-digit lead at 10 minutes, which was over 15 for a majority of the second quarter, and from there it got worse.
Suns played a good defense against a bad offensive by the Grizzlies. Memphis had some decent half-looks, but never managed to fall. Like the Suns’ breeze to win against the Orlando Magic in early February, it looked like the Grizzlies weren’t fully there because of the number of boys missing.
The Grizzlies missed 16 consecutive triples to open the game.
When they made the test no. 17, the Suns increased by 25, with 41.4 seconds remaining in the first half.
Phoenix went all the way. The Grizzlies didn’t have enough fighting left after the sun bounced them off. A 31-point lead during the Suns half was reduced to just 26 minutes in the second half.
This game would not have been strongly contested regardless of the way the filming took place, but it did not help that the Suns also made a franchise record with 24 triples.
In such an open game, several players managed to get a rhythm score. Devin Booker had a maximum score of 23, while 19 points were contributed by Mikal Bridges, Cam Payne and Dario Saric.
Memphis finished 5 of 33 (15.2%) in the three-point range. The Suns had 35 assists in just nine turnovers.
This season’s Suns spectators will often be reminded of Paul’s greatness. Beyond his impact in the last two victories, there is also the fact that on Saturday he passed the scary Oscar on Robertson in the ranking of all-time assistants, moving to sixth place.
Not everyone in the Suns takes it for granted.
“I won a big game for myself, but I’m just amazed that I’ll be able to be a part of it with him,” Williams said of Paul’s achievement. “When you think of Oscar Robertson, it’s unreal that Chris plays the way he plays … I just think it’s amazing and a blessing and I feel so honored and humiliated to be part of this team when he did it. ”
Booker made sure he got the game ball for Paul so the team could present him with a ball that Paul was still holding while talking to the media.
“It’s kind of hard to put into words, you’ve been a fan of the game for so long and you’ve been a fan of it for so long – now it’s incredible to get to court with it, it’s incredible,” Booker said.
“It really means everything,” he added when he handed the ball to Paul. “Just being part of history, man – this is Chris Paul right there. I say it every day. I call her first and last name, because that’s how I grew up saying that. ”
Booker said it was “not a mistake” that Paul is as remarkable as a basketball player as he is because he has now seen Paul’s day-to-day work over the past two months.
This special mentality that Paul had was reflected when he was asked if he was trying to catch Magic Johnson – number 5 – in the next ranking this season.
“I’m trying to win,” Paul said, smiling.