"Do they not see these shooters I'm surrounded by?" - Chris Paul on Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley's bet against him grabbing 12 assists

Chris Paul's 17 points and 19 assists powered the Phoenix Suns to an easy win against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday

Chris Paul and the Phoenix Suns had the better of their 2021 NBA Finals opponents, the Milwaukee Bucks, on Thursday night.

CP3 finished with 17 points and 19 assists as the Suns trounced the Bucks 131-107 in their first meeting since last year's NBA Finals. The win improved Phoenix's record to 45-10, the best in the league this season.

LEADER. POINT GOD.

Tonight's @FanDuel Stat Line of the Game https://t.co/dRcmdHSjg4

Speaking after the game, Chris Paul attributed his 19-assist night to the shot-making ability of his teammates. He also clapped back at NBA on TNT expert guests Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal, who said he wouldn't get to 12 assists in their pre-game analysis.

"When you are a point guard, you are sort of like a quarterback out there. So I got a lot of dope receivers, you know they got the hard part - making shots. I saw before the game that Shaq and Chuck [Charles Barkley] said, they had a bet that I wasn't going to get 12. Do they not see these shooters I'm surrounded by? ... I can get Chuck some buckets now even the way he looks."

"Do they not see these shooters I'm surrounded by? ... I can give Chuck some buckets."

CP3 responds to @SHAQ and Chuck's bet 😂 https://t.co/eiHmM2zy2b

Chris Paul becomes 4th guard in NBA history to reach 500 career double-doubles

With his double-double against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday, Chris Paul became the fourth guard in NBA history to reach the 500 career double-doubles milestone. Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson and John Stockton are the only other guards to have previously achieved this milestone.

In great company 🙏🏾 #HighlyFavored #CantGiveUpNow twitter.com/suns/status/14…

Paul's 19 assists also meant that he had distributed more dimes against Milwaukee than the rest of his teammates (16). This is his second 19-assist game for the season, with the first coming less than a fortnight ago against the San Antonio Spurs on January 30, 2022.

In all, the 36-year-old has had six 15-plus assists games this season while leading the league in that category at an average of 10.6 apg.

19-Assist Games - This Season
Chris Paul 2
Rest of NBA 0 https://t.co/rmq8D51iW7

The win against Milwaukee gave Phoenix a 9-1 record over the course of their last 10 games. Paul and teammate Devin Booker have been in scorching form for the Suns in this duration.

While CP3 is averaging 19.4 ppg, 12.5 apg and shooting 52.6% from the field in this 10-game stretch, Booker is averaging 29.5 ppg.

Devin Booker and Chris Paul have been on fire in their last 10 games🔥

Book: 29.5 PPG, 45.9 FG%
CP3: 19.4 PPG, 12.5 APG, 52.6 FG%

The Suns have the best record in the league at 45-10. https://t.co/gW8910VQTs

Chris Paul will turn 37 on May 6. This is his 17th NBA season.