Chris Paul # 3 of the Phoenix Suns shoots over the New Orleans Pelicans’ Lonzo Ball # 2 during the fourth quarter of an NBA game at Smoothie King Center on February 19, 2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Phoenix Suns wins the game 132 – 114. (Photo by Sean Gardner / Getty Images)
“Funky.”
That’s how Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams described his team’s game through three quarters in New Orleans against the Pelicans on Friday.
Some stellar three-point shots allowed the Suns to hang out, but they were 11 to three-quarters lower. It felt like the locks were about to burst.
And they did.
But not exactly as you expected.
The Suns won the game with 18 with a score of 132-114.
That sound you just heard was the multiple people falling out of their seats and reading that, rightly turning this game off for 36 minutes.
Yes, that same game ended when the Suns outperformed the Pelicans 41-12 in the fourth quarter.
It is clear what has changed. Why did it? Not so clear. That’s like the sports sometimes go, I guess.
Regardless, the Suns were mostly lifeless on the defensive, delivering one of their worst overall team efforts. They made 15 of their first 27 shots from deep (55.5%) and it really was all that got them in, outside of a focused effort from Chris Paul.
Then, at the start of the fourth quarter, an energetic start from Paul, Deandre Ayton and Jae Crowder provided signs of life and a reminder that it really was a competition.
Paul was already stuck, so with the momentum of the game finally up for grabs, he snatched it with relentless precision.
You know that part in a movie where people are at sea trying to survive through a storm, and then there’s a close-up of the protagonist with a baffled look on their face saying, ‘My god …’ before they cut through to a wave that rises them as big as North Dakota?
Those were the Pelicans who saw the Point God in the first few minutes of the fourth.
Paul’s insane pull-up from the right wing was the early dagger. It put the Suns 11 in the mid-way through the fourth and on a 27-5 run to open the quarter.
“That’s just being in those situations over and over … I need to get a shot,” said Paul. “So step aside to the right, let it ride.”
Paul clarified after the game that he said, “I know this place,” with New Orleans as his home for his first six NBA seasons.
In the fourth quarter alone, Paul had five points and seven assists. He finished with 15 points and 19 assists. He became the first NBA player this season to clock at least nineteen in a game.
“He’s orchestrating out there,” Suns security guard Devin Booker said of Paul. He knows what’s going on before it even happens. With him, the game is never over until the horn sounds. He guided us well and kept our composure throughout the game, and that fourth quarter was a work of art. “
Crowder was a staggering plus-30 in the fourth quarter, part of the match where he hit four of his six three-pointers. He scored a total of 20 points.
In that fourth step Ayton ended up again in one of those zones where he influenced almost every game. We never know when we’re going to see that guy, but when we do, it’s sure to be a treat.
Ayton’s opening three-and-a-half minutes were the main reason why Paul was able to take over the game.
The pattern is never clear in terms of when Ayton will appear like this. He didn’t roll in this game. His good individual defense against Zion Williamson kept him from being a big negative for three quarters.
Williams stayed with Ayton through a clearly cut-off attempt during Tuesday’s rough loss to the Brooklyn Nets, believing he would show his young center that he will keep playing fouls.
At a certain moment on Friday, however, the blunders in the third quarter had the feeling that it might be time to sit down for Ayton and look elsewhere. And just to be clear, that would be the case with most young players who seem out of sync, and that’s not just something specific with just Ayton.
But Williams stayed loyal to the big guy again, and it paid off immensely. Both the coach and especially the player deserve the credit for this.
“He plays at both ends of the floor,” Williams said of Ayton. Defensively he was definitely sound and a star in moments, but if he is able to put pressure on the rim and generate shots – Jae and Cam (Johnson) and Chris don’t get those shots without DA putting pressure on. the edge. It was either giving up the 3 or DA on the rim, so that’s the sacrifice he makes when he dives to the basket. It’s just good for him to have those moments because I know it gives him confidence.
“Everyone in our team roots for DA. They hear all the stories surrounding his name and we appreciate what he does for us at both ends of the floor. “
Ayton scored 16 points and 16 rebounds.
Speaking of that defense at Williamson, that game had Frank Kaminsky back in the starting line-up for the Suns. Kaminsky was able to take the big body of Willy Hernangomez, who started in place of the injured Steven Adams, while Ayton Williamson defended.
Kaminsky again played well, hitting five three-pointers towards a season-high 17 points.
E’Twaun Moore had again taken quite a bit off the bench and added seven points. Johnson brought in 13 more and played a part in that fourth quarter of destruction.
The Suns (18-10) tied a franchise record with 22 three-pointers.
Williamson finished with 23 points, while Brandon Ingram of the Pelicans (12-17) had 25 points. Those two caused consistent problems that plagued Phoenix for most of the game. Williams said he made some adjustments to limit Ingram in the fourth inning, but again quickly admitted that his players had “the will and effort” to perform at that high level.
“That’s the resilience and the relentless play we’ve talked about that we need to have,” Williams said of the overall win. “It didn’t go our way for the entire game. You just felt it was a bit funky. “