Chris Paul saved the Oklahoma City Thunder season.
In the final minutes of the fourth quarter on Monday, the P te Point Guard scored three back-to-back three-pointers to tie Game 6 of their first-round series with the Houston Rockets, and then a pair of free throws to give OKCI. Lead for good in a 104-100 win. Win-or-go-home game 7 is set for Wednesday.
Paul T.N.T. The broadcaster later said, “Who are we?” “We were created for stuff like this. A lot of people on our team have been pushed out, traded or not, but we just stay together and we keep fighting. “
Paul Lee scored 28 points on Monday, which the team traded on its edge last summer. A year after he helped lead the Rockets to Game 7 of the 2018 Western Conference Finals, Houston won the M.P.P. Russell traded them for Westbrook, with four first-round picks in Oklahoma City. The move hints at a rebuild for Thunder, who also sent Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers last summer, but Paul’s steady hand guided the Thunder team to the playoffs on the force of enforcement in clutch conditions all year round.
Monday was no different. A pole three-pointer gave Ok Kalahoma City a 111-84 lead with 11:11 remaining, but the game turned in Houston’s favor when the Dennis Schroeder layout was closed, and Paul was called in for technical misconduct. The Rockets ran 14-1, respectively, leaving the Thunder 4:19 with a 92-86 hole. Paul responded with a constant thrash, the second of which he made over Robert Cuewington’s outstretched arm. Paul Cuewington can be seen tapping in the back as they move to the other side.
Westbrook and Schroeder trade the layout, and then Paul Lee beat Cuewington by a dribble, committing a foul to set the stage for the forward. The pair of Westbrook turnover and Danilo Galinari free throw at the other end sealed the deal. Westbrook and fellow former MVP James Hard finished 1-for-6 off the field with three turnovers in the final four minutes.
Said about Paul. “She is OK. He is a great competitor. He has an incredible desire to win. When you have a person with that kind of mind, manipulating and surveying the court itself, he did an incredible job. “It was spectacular.” “Data-reacted =” 35 “>” He’s got an incredible basketball IQ, “Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. Said about Paul. “She is OK. He is a great competitor. He has an incredible desire to win. When you have a person with that kind of mind, manipulating and surveying the court itself, he did an incredible job. … It was spectacular. “
Hard was given a total of six points, eight rebounds and seven assists, but no one except Covington (1 point) got any help and the pull turned down. Westbrook returned from a quadrilateral injury in Game 5, but in the third quarter of Game 6 he lengthened the locker room, returning five minutes later, missed just four of his last six shots and sent three of his seven turnovers. Westbrook finished with 17 points.
Game 6th Quarter:
Chris Paul: 3 points from 15 points, 3, 0 turnover on 5-7 shooting
Westbrook and Harden: 1-1 with 10 points, 3, 3 turnover on 3-11 shooting
– Royce Young (@raisyung) September 1, 2020
Thunder got 25 points from Galinari, but Paul ran the show. Oklahoma City outscored Houston by 20 points with a 35-year-old future Hall of Famer on the floor. Every other Thunder starter was a pure minus.
It shouldn’t lose anyone that Paul is the president of the Players Union, for a role that required unprecedented leadership during last week’s strike. In a matter of days, he has saved the season for the league in the hotel’s roomroom and for his team on the AdventHealth Arena court. After Monday’s game, Polle Land credited the players’ professionalism for facing injustice outside the Relando Bubble.
Now, Game 7 comes down to Paul and Harden, the two previous teammates whose “failed” relationship led to last summer’s trade. Both play expectations will enter with a reputation for falling short of expectations, complete with last year’s six-game defeat to the Golden State Warriors team below Kevin Durant.
The Rockets entered the playoffs with title aspirations. The Thunder was seen as a stepping stone to a meeting with the top-ranked Los Angeles Lakers in Houston’s Western Conference semifinals, but Paul had other plans. Critics were silenced by his clutch play on Monday, but Game 7 could change the whole story.
Paul yelled
After his heroic turn. “Game 7, anything can happen.” “Data-Rated =” 43 “>” We gave ourselves a chance, ” Paul yelled After his heroic turn. “Game 7, anything can happen.”Follow“Data-reacted =” 45 “> Ben Rohrbach is a staff writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him on Rohrbach_ben @ yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow
