Trailing by two points with 32 seconds to play on the road in Game 4 of the NBA Finals is, certainly, not the ideal time for a turnover. But that’s what the Suns got on Wednesday night from stalwart team leader Chris Paul, who fell while driving into the paint and the Bucks ahead, 101-99, setting up a Milwaukee transition bucket that all but finished off a grinding Suns loss.
The series now stands tied, 2-2, as it heads back to Phoenix. Should the series go seven games, the Suns will have the homecourt advantage, meaning they are still the favorites to come home with this year’s Larry O’Brien trophy.
Chris Paul self critical for having five of the Suns’ 17 turnovers
But the slip-up by Paul was the lowlight that, perhaps, defined the game for Phoenix. On a night when Devin Booker logged an impressive bounce-back, scoring 42 points on 17-for-28 shooting after a miserable 10-point showing on 3-for-14 shooting in Game 3, Paul was out of sorts throughout. He scored just 10 points and a had a relatively modest seven assists.
The turnover was the fifth of the game for Paul and prompted a stinging rebuke from ABC analyst Mark Jackson on the national broadcast: “I know Chris Paul loves watching film. I would suggest not watching it.”
Monty Williams: Paul Helps Younger Players Through Losses
It will be tough for Paul to swallow a game like that, especially with Booker producing at an incredibly high level. Overall, the Suns did some of what they needed to give themselves an advantage—they kept the rebounding battle (54-50) close and kept things close in points in the paint (48-40). They held Giannis Antetokounmpo to merely a great game (26 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists), rather than the 40-plus scoring they’d given to the Greek Freak in the past two games.
Before the game, coach Monty Williams addressed how Paul typically helps his younger teammates cope with a loss. That might be harder, though, with the loss resting largely on Paul’s shoulders:
He’s encouraging, for sure. He and I are always talking about things that we can do better, all of us, but with the guys, his leadership has improved in ways from the first time I was with him until now because of his ability to know when to say something and when not to say something, which is really cool to watch. Then they get together after practice, whether it’s at the hotel, on the bus, the card game they have, they’re talking about the game and I’m sure a lot of stuff comes up in those moments. Sometimes it’s best to bring it up later on when the emotions are a bit more balanced.
Suns Controlled the Bulk of Game 4 vs. Bucks
Still, it can be safely said that the Bucks got a bit of a lucky break in winning this game, one that Milwaukee led for only three minutes and 54 seconds all game. It hurt that among that 3:54 was the final 1:28 of the game, when the Bucks were able to seal the deal.
The Suns still controlled most of the game, despite poor shooting nights from DeAndre Ayton (3-for-9) and Jae Crowder (3-for-10). There is some encouragement in that–those guys should shoot better going forward.
Chris Paul blames “bad decision making” for his five turnovers. Adds the Suns shoot the ball too well to not give themselves opportunities to score by letting possessions go to waste.
But it will take more than what we saw from Paul in Game 4 for Phoenix to get back untracked when the Suns get home. He knows that. “For me,” Paul said, “I gotta take care of the ball.”
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NBA Finals: Chris Paul Takes Shot From Broadcaster After Brutal Turnover