Chris Paul has done a lot in his illustrious NBA career, but he took it to another level on Thursday night.
The current Winston-Salem State University student and future Hall of Famer hit all 14 of his field goal attempts, pouring in 33 points as the Phoenix Suns took down the New Orleans Pelicans to close their first round series.
Paul became the first player in NBA playoffs history to make more than 13 shots without a miss. Only Wilt Chamberlain has had better shooting nights, once hitting all 18 of his attempts against the Baltimore Bullets back in 1967. But that was a regular-season game.
“I had no clue,” Paul said after the game. “I think maybe at halftime I said I might have to shoot a little more. But throughout the game, I was literally managing the game. I wasn’t taking heat checks. I don’t shoot enough to have heat checks.”
The soon-to-be 37-year-old also added eight assists in Thursday’s season finale. It was a spectacular end to a solid series for Paul who averaged 22.3 points and 11.3 assists per game in the six contests, shooting a sizzling 56.3 percent from the field while turning the ball over just nine times for the entire series.
The Winston-Salem, NC native continues to defy age in his seventeenth NBA season. Paul averaged 14.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, a league-high 10.8 assists and 1.9 steals against only 2.4 turnovers across 65 games. He shot 49.3 percent from the field, including 31.7 percent from 3-point range.
Chris Paul and the Phoenix Suns will advance to the second round where they will take on the Dallas Mavericks, the fourth seed in the Western Conference.