New Orleans Pelicans at Phoenix Suns
NBA first-round playoff series, Game 5 (tied 2 wins apiece)
Tuesday, 7 p.m., Footprint Center TV/Radio: Bally Sports Arizona, TNT/ Arizona Sports 98.7 FM
Storyline: To say this is a must-win game for the Suns would be an understatement. Lose on Tuesday, and the team with the No. 1 overall seed in these playoffs would not only lose homecourt advantage in the series, but also face an elimination game in the first round — and who would have thought that possible even a week ago. With Devin Booker still expected out with his hamstring injury, can a team that prides itself on depth and teamwork muster up a big effort against the youthful high-energy being displayed by the Pelicans?
Key matchup: Chris Paul vs. Herb
Jones, redux. This might have been the key to New Orleans winning Game 4, and it will be a must-see, game-withinthe-game on Tuesday night. Jones, a rookie who is a beast on defense, blanketed Paul all night Sunday and limited the future Hall of Famer to 4 points in 35 minutes. Moreover, Paul’s NBA record streak of seven games games with 10 or more assists with no turnovers came to an end in Game 4 — Paul dished out 11 assists but turned the ball over 3 times.
Hot topics: Not sure there’s one bigger than the free-throw disparity in this series. The Pelicans had a slight edge in free-throw attempts and makes in each of the first three games, but it went off the charts on Sunday, as Suns coach Monty Williams noted with not a little bit of frustration in his postgame comments.
“Let me say this, “42 to 15 in free throws,” Williams said. “You can slice it anyway you want to. In a playoff game that physical, that’s amazing, OK. Coaches shouldn’t have to come up to the microphone and feel like they’re going to get their heads cut off for speaking the truth.”
By the numbers: Key stats to know
38 and 27: The Pelicans’ advantage in free throws attempted and made through four games of the series.
29.8: Brandon Ingram’s scoring average through four games, tying the Pelicans’ forward for fourth in the league with Dallas’ Jalen Brunson. Not a bad start for someone getting his first NBA playoff experience.
X-factor: Pelicans coach Willie
Green. Normally in this space we highlight a Suns player as the X-factor for a particular game, but Green, the former Suns assistant under Williams, is using his “local knowledge” of his former team to great advantage. Granted, the Pelicans are probably under-seeded, because they have not played like a team that only had the ninth-best record in the Western Conference for months now.