Chris Paul # 3 of the Phoenix Suns shoots Lonzo Ball # 2 of the New Orleans Pelicans during the fourth half of an NBA game at the Smoothie King Center on February 19, 2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Phoenix Suns won the game 132 – 114. (Photo by Sean Gardner / Getty Images)
“Funky.”
That’s how Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams described his team’s three-quarter game in New Orleans on Friday against the Pelicans.
Thanks to some three-point stellar shots, the Suns managed to maintain themselves, but fell 11 to three quarters. It looked like the floodgates were about to explode.
And, uh, they did.
But not quite the way you expected.
The Suns won the game by 18 and a score of 132-114.
That sound you just heard was that of several people falling out of their chairs reading what, rightly, turned off the game for 36 minutes.
Yes, the same game ended with Suns beating Pelicans by 41 to 12 in the fourth period.
It is clear what has changed. Why did it? Not so clear. That’s how sports happen sometimes, I think.
Despite everything, the Suns were almost lifeless in defense, putting into practice one of their worst team efforts. They hit 15 of their first 27 pitches (55.5%) and it was really all that kept them there, apart from a concentrated effort by Chris Paul.
Then, at the beginning of the fourth period, an energetic start from Paul, Deandre Ayton and Jae Crowder gave signs of life and a reminder that it was much more of a game.
Paul was already stuck, so with the momentum of the game finally coming back to be grabbed, he grabbed it with relentless precision.
You know that part of a movie where people are at sea trying to survive a storm, and then there’s a close-up of the main protagonist with a stunned look on his face saying, “My God …” before cutting into a wave coming are they the size of North Dakota?
It was the Pelicans in the first minutes of the fourth moment seeing Deus Point.
Paul’s crazy tug on the right wing was the starting dagger. He put Suns at 11 in the middle of the quarter and in a 27-5 run to open the quarter.
“This is always being in these situations … I have to shoot,” said Paul. “So, take a step to the right, let him walk.”
Paul clarified after the game, he said, “I know this place”, with New Orleans serving as his home during his first six NBA seasons.
In the fourth period alone, Paul scored five points and seven assists. He finished with 15 points and 19 assists. He became the first NBA player this season to score at least 19 points in a game.
“He’s orchestrating out there,” Suns guard Devin Booker said of Paul. “He knows what’s going on before it even happens. With it, the game never ends until the horn sounds. He did a good job leading us, maintaining our composure throughout the game, and that fourth time was a work of art ”.
Crowder had an impressive + -30 in the fourth quarter, a section of the game in which he hit four of his six strokes. He scored 20 points in total.
That Wednesday, Ayton entered one of those zones again, where he was impacting almost every move. We never know when we’re going to see that guy, but when we do, it’s definitely a pleasure.
Ayton’s first three and a half minutes were the main reason Paul was in a position to take over the game.
The pattern is never obvious in terms of when Ayton looks like this. He was not playing this game. His good individual defense at Zion Williamson prevented him from being a big negative overall for three quarters.
Williams stayed with Ayton through a clear disconnected effort during Tuesday’s tough loss to the Brooklyn Nets, supposedly to show his young center that he will continue to play despite mistakes.
At one point on Friday, however, the gaffes in the third quarter looked like it might be time to sit Ayton down for a while and look elsewhere. And to be clear, that would be the case for most young players looking out of sync, and it’s not just a specific thing with just Ayton.
But Williams stayed true to the big guy again, and it was worth it. Both the coach and especially the player deserve credit for that.
“He plays on both ends of the floor,” said Williams of Ayton. “Defensively, he was solid for sure and a star at times, but when he is able to put pressure on the rim and generate shots – Jae and Cam (Johnson) and Chris cannot get those shots without DA by putting pressure on the rim. It was giving up 3 or DA on the edge, so that’s the sacrifice he makes when he dives for the basket. It is good for him to have those moments, because I know it gives him confidence.
“Everyone on our team supports DA. They hear all the narratives around his name and we value what he does for us at both ends of the word. “
Ayton recorded 16 points and 16 rebounds.
Speaking of that Williamson defense, that clash put Frank Kaminsky back on the Suns team. Kaminsky could take the large body of Willy Hernangomez, who started in the place of the injured Steven Adams, while Ayton defended Williamson.
Kaminsky once again played well, hitting five points towards the record of the season, 17 points.
E’Twaun Moore had another good stretch off the bench, adding seven points. Johnson provided 13 more and played an important role in the fourth quarter of the destruction.
The Suns (18-10) tied a franchise record with 22 three points.
Williamson finished with 23 points, while Brandon Ingram of Pelicans (12-17) had 25. These two caused consistent problems that plagued Phoenix for most of the game. Williams said he adjusted some things to limit Ingram in the fourth game, but was once again quick to give credit to his players for having “the will and the effort” to execute him at such a high level.
“This is resilience and the relentless game that we talk about that we need to have,” said Williams of the overall victory. “It wasn’t going well for us for most of the game. You could feel it was a little cool. “