Phoenix rising
CP3 powers Suns past former team, into NBA Finals
LOS ANGELES — Tears welled in Chris Paul’s eyes. A message in black ink on his shoes said it all: Can’t give up now.
Not when, after 16 years, he will finally play for an NBA title.
Paul led the Suns into the NBA Finals for the first time in 28 years, with a 130103 victory over the Clippers on Wednesday night to close out the Western Conference finals in six games.
“I was on a don’t-lose mission,” Paul said. “Just a lot of emotion. A lot of [things] going on.”
Paul scored 41 points and Devin Booker added 22 to send the Suns to their third finals appearance in franchise history. They will face either the Hawks or Bucks, who are tied 2-2 in the East finals.
“He was tired,” Suns coach Monty Williams said of Paul. “He was still making those kind of plays, getting to the basket, 3s, orchestrating everything.
“He has persevered through a lot — injuries, playoff heartbreak.”
Paul reached the NBA Finals for the first time on the same Staples Center court where he helped bring the Clippers to respectability over six seasons that ended in 2017 without ever getting past the second round. The 36-year-old guard punished his old team with 31 points in the second half and tied his playoff career high — the same amount L.A.’s Paul George had in pushing the Clippers to a road win in Game 5.
“I’m just so happy for all the people around me,” Paul said on court after the game, “and the Clippers are my family, too. These fans, Billy Crystal, that’s my family. This is a team I have the utmost respect for, I’ll always be a Clipper.
“But this group right here, this group right here,” he said, gesturing at his Suns teammates wearing NBA Finals hats.
The West trophy glinted under the arena lights as orange-clad Suns fans cheered over boos from Clippers fans.
“This is what we set out to get tonight, so we didn’t want to go back to Phoenix without it,” Booker said.
Phoenix is the first team to reach the NBA Finals after a 10-year playoff drought. The Suns last made the NBA Finals in 1993, when they were led by Charles Barkley and lost to Michael Jordan and the Bulls in six games.
Their only other finals appearance was in 1976, when they lost to the Celtics in six games.
Things got chippy in the fourth. Going into a timeout with 5:48 remaining, Paul stared at Patrick Beverley as he walked by. Beverley turned around and shoved Paul hard in the back, sending him to the floor. Beverley was ejected.
Marcus Morris led the Clippers with 26 points despite playing with a sore knee. George had 21 points and nine rebounds coming off his career playoff high that staved off elimination and brought his team back home for another chance.
But the exhausted Clippers — who rallied from 0-2 series deficits in getting to the West finals for the first time in franchise history — had little left in the tank. They were again without twotime NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, who has been out with a right knee spain, and center Ivica Zubac. He missed a second straight game because of a MCL sprain in his right knee.
Leonard moved from a suite to the bench for the game, his eyes staring from behind a black mask.
“I thought we ran out of gas,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “For that first half, we made a lot of mistakes mentally. That tells you guys are tired.”
“Phoenix did a hell of a job,” Lue said. “CP was fantastic. Booker is a star at a young age and they have a good foundation. They played a hell of a series and go from there.”