It may not be in specific situations but in the long run, basketball, like life, puts everyone where they deserve. Last night, he put Chris paul in the NBA Finals. Or rather, Paul put himself, for the first time in his career, to a ring eliminator.
Los Angeles Clippers fell clearly to Phoenix Suns in the sixth game of a tie that surely has extended more than it should. Paul led a sensational performance of his own to proclaim himself Western Conference champions.
The point guard, one of the great players of this century who had not made it to the NBA Finals, ended up with 41 points a night to remember. The Suns danced under his baton, making history and returning to a final series for the title, for the first time in 28 years.
He did not do it alone, as his work in Phoenix has been much more complex. He has turned two promising youngsters into true stars of the league. Last night, De’Andre Ayton and Devin Booker shone again under the wing of CP3.
The first closed a fantastic series with 16 points and 17 rebounds, thanks to a total mastery of painting. The second ended with 22 so many and it is already part of the franchise’s history; and what lies ahead.
This time the Angelenos couldn’t fight the inevitable. The nth Kawhi Leonard’s low it weighed too much this time. Not even their presence on the bench managed to give them wings against an opponent who came out completely convinced of their victory.
Paul george It was not enough. Neither was it Reggie
Jackson, neither Marcus
Morris. The three pillars on which the Clippers have stood in this series fell one by one, leaving the Clippers one step away from his first NBA Finals in history.
Despite being constantly criticized players, little can be attributed to this trio of gamers who have given everything. PG has shown that he is still part of the league’s elite and that, knowing him, he will come back stronger.
The game broke down minute by minute, cracking until the Suns had a big enough lead to start celebrating. There were those who did not understand, or maybe he didn’t want to.
Pattrick Beverley was expelled in the absence of a few minutes for a foul as unnecessary as it is repulsive on Paul. With the game stopped, he pushed his rival from behind, knocking him to the ground in an act of total desperation.
The Suns are finalists and they wait for an opponent. The Eastern Conference series still has a rope and his rival could be either one of them. Until then, the Arizonans will have time to get psyched up to try an assault on the throne as unexpected as it deserved.