Suns ‘still have work to do’ to earn trophy
Coaches, players become emotional after huge win
Even if Monty Williams wanted to cry, he couldn’t.
The Phoenix Suns coach didn’t have any more tears left after sincere words from assistant Randy Ayers before Wednesday’s 130-103 victory at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles to reach the NBA Finals got him all emotional.
“About 2:30, we were in the locker room and it was just Randy and I and I was like, ‘Man Randy, we’re so close,’” Williams said. “And then Randy starts telling me what he felt about me because he’s been with me since Day 1 in New Orleans. And I broke down before the game.”
So even seeing Chris Paul tearing up in the closing minutes of Game 6 didn’t move Williams to do the same.
“Jae (Crowder) was laughing, he was like, ‘Chris is going to start crying,’” Williams later said. “I said, ‘Yeah, I had mine earlier.’ He looked at me and I said ‘Dude, I broke down, 2:30, 3 o’clock. I was gone because Randy had just spoke from the heart to me about some things that we’ve been through.”
Ayers, who coached five seasons under Williams in New Orleans and two in Phoenix, shared what he appreciates about the Suns coach when asked about their pregame conversation.
“He respects the position, and that’s really gratifying for me to see,” said Ayers, who was a head coach at Ohio State.
As valuable as Paul has been in his first season in Phoenix, what is still the singular most important move the Suns have made in going from 19 wins in the 2018-19 season to reaching the finals is hiring Williams, who was as an assistant in Philadelphia at the time, after having their second-worst season in franchise history.
“Monty coming in, building the culture, him leading us with the preparation meets opportunity,” Suns All-Star Devin Booker said. “That was for these moments right here. We took it and we ran with it.”
The Suns were prepared, took advantage of the opportunity and are now in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1993 after an 11-year playoff drought.
And they’re not done.
“We still have work to do,” Booker continued as he took another look at the glittery silver Western Conference championship trophy ball resting beside him in an open chair. “This is nice and all, but we’re going for Larry for sho’.”
That’d be the Larry O’Brien Trophy awarded to the NBA champion.
The Suns are four wins away from hoisting that gold trophy for the first time ever.
The second-seeded Suns will match up against the third-seeded Milwaukee Bucks or fifth-seeded Atlanta Hawks.
Here’s a look back at how the Suns closed out the fourth-seeded Clippers in this best-of-seven series.
Player of Wednesday’s Game 6 win: Chris Paul
Clippers coach Ty Lue gave the Suns props.
“Hats off to Phoenix,” he said. “They did a hell of a job. Monty Williams, one of the best coaches in this league and just the culture he set, bringing CP in, young team, having everyone buy into their role and what they want to do.”
Then Lue praised Paul, who overcame a shoulder injury in the first round against the defending NBA champion
Los Angeles Lakers, a bout with COVID-19 that led to him missing Game 1 and 2 of the conference finals under the NBA’s health and safety protocols and torn ligaments in his right hand suffered in Game 3 to deliver an epic performance in the arena he once called home for six seasons.
“CP was fantastic tonight, 41 points, eight assists,” Lue continued. Don’t forget zero turnovers in 35 minutes.
The Clippers were without their best player in first-team All-NBA selection Kawhi Leonard, who missed the entire conference finals series with a right knee sprain suffered in Game 4 of the conference semifinals against the top-seeded Utah Jazz.
‘What if’
With Leonard, the Clippers believe they’d be heading to the finals.
Paul is a big reason the Clippers are going home, too. Not only did he tie a playoff career high in points Wednesday night, Paul had a stretch of scoring 24 of Phoenix’s 30 points after the Clippers cut the Suns’ 17-point lead to seven, 89-82, with 1:43 left in the third.
Critical of his team for failing to close quarters well in the series, Paul had a personal 8-0 run to end the third as Phoenix led, 97-83, entering the fourth.
‘He started feeling it’
Then Paul scored 16 of Phoenix’s next 22 as the Suns went up, 119-92, with 5:49 left.
“We kind of knew it was coming,” Suns big Deandre Ayton said. “He started feeling it.”
Paul’s final point came on a technical free throw after Patrick Beverley shoved him in the back after they crossed paths as both teams headed to their benches during a timeout.
Beverley got ejected.
Suns kept rolling.
Game over.
“Once we knew we got the game won, we knew at some point they would break and that’s basically what you saw,” Crowder said. “You saw a breaking point with one of their leaders.”
Phoenix’s leader will now play in his first finals in his illustrious 16-year career.