"CP3 said chill ya fat a** out!" - Kendrick Perkins' emphatic response on being proven wrong by Chris Paul's 33-point masterclass against New Orleans as Suns win series 4-2
Chris Paul got the job done for the Phoenix Suns. With an opportunity to close out their first-round playoff series against the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday, Paul produced a perfect game to give the Suns a 115-109 victory in Game 6. Paul went 14-of-14 (100.0%) from the field as he tallied 33 points, thereby becoming the first player in NBA playoff history to make 13-plus shots without a miss.
POINT GOD PERFECTION 🔥
Chris Paul is the first player in NBA history to make 13+ shots in a playoff game without a miss!
CP3: 33 PTS, 14-14 FG, 8 AST
Suns advance to the Western Conference semis ☀️ https://t.co/a4yvSzZd9i
With the Pelicans punching above their weight for most of the series, Chris Paul's special night came at the perfect time for his team. The Suns, who played without superstar shooting guard Devin Booker in Games 3, 4 and 5, were given a lift by the return of their three-time All-Star in Game 6. But with Booker playing on a minutes restriction, it was CP3 who came good for the Suns as the visitors turned a 10-point deficit at halftime into a six-point win at the final buzzer. CP3 was a big factor in this turnaround as he scored 23 of his 33 points in the second half.
Paul, who averaged a double-double (22.3 ppg, 11.3 apg) in this series, had former NBA player and current analyst Kendrick Perkins eating his words. Perkins had predicted the Pelicans would win their first-round matchup after Booker picked up his hamstring injury in Game 2. Paul's consistency and his big night at the Smoothie King Center on Thursday had Perkins admitting on Twitter that he was wrong. Perk wrote in praise of CP3's big-game night:
"I picked the Pelicans to upset the Suns after Booker got hurt and CP3 said chill ya fat a$$ out Big Perk and put on damn Clinic tonight! The Pelicans has really put the world on NOTICE! Respect to the Suns for handling their business. Carry the hell on…"
I picked the Pelicans to upset the Suns after Booker got hurt and CP3 said chill ya fat a$$ out Big Perk and put on damn Clinic tonight! The Pelicans has really put the world on NOTICE! Respect to the Suns for handling their business. Carry the hell on…
"I always say this city raised me," says Chris Paul, acknowledging New Orleans' significant impact on his career
Chris Paul was arguably the best player for the Phoenix Suns against the New Orleans Pelicans. He shot 56.7% from the field in the six-game series and had an assists-to-turnover ratio of 7.6-to-1 as the Suns finally managed to get past the Pelicans. Paul, nonetheless, acknowledged the role New Orleans played in shaping his NBA career after they drafted him as the fourth overall pick in 2005. Speaking in a television interview soon after the game ended, Paul said:
"I always say this city raised me, man."
"I always say this city raised me."
@CP3 spoke with @ALaForce after a series-clinching win in New Orleans. https://t.co/ETluU0Uraa