Phoenix Suns security guard Chris Paul (left) shoots while Marcus Morris Sr. of the Los Angeles Clippers during the second half in the 6th (AP Photo / Mark J. Terrill)
Wednesday night was something to celebrate as the Phoenix Suns defeated the Los Angeles Clippers by 130-103 and made it to the NBA finals for the third time in franchise history.
Point guard Chris Paul put in an impressive performance in Game 6 and the 11-time All-Star is now making his first final appearance since joining the league in 2005.
During his first playoff run with the Suns, Paul averaged 18.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists, while shooting 47% off the field in 14 games.
Paul put the suns on his back in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals to make sure the series didn’t return to Phoenix for Game 7.
Here is a breakdown of Paul’s historic performance in Game 6 of the WCF by the numbers:
4th
Paul finished the game on Wednesday with 41 points and zero turnovers. The Veteran Point Guard is the fourth player in league history to record more than 40 points and no sales in a Conference Finals game since sales became an official statistic in the 1977-78 season.
35
In the previous Suns playoff series, Paul lost 37 points in Game 4 to close the Nuggets on the road. To then defeat the Clippers in the conference finals, Paul delivered a performance of over 40 for Phoenix.
On Wednesday, Paul became the oldest player in postseason history with 35 points in consecutive close-out games within a postseason. The previous record holder was the Chicago Bulls Hall-of-Famer Michael Jordan.
1954-1955
Paul is the first player in the shot clock era (since 1954-55) to score at least 35 points and knock down two free throws in multiple straight wins in the same postseason.
31
In the second half against the Clippers on Wednesday, Paul scored 31 points to complete the series against his former team. His second-half performance was the most points he scored in a single half of his entire career. Paul is now the only player alongside Warriors ‘Stephen Curry and Lakers’ Anthony Davis to score 30 points in the second half of a series win.
41
Paul finished Game 6 with 41 total points and thus continued his playoff career high point. It was the second most popular in a playoff game by a player aged 36 or older in NBA history. Paul joins Karl Malone as the only player who has accomplished this feat.
1,214
The Suns All-Star will play in his first NBA final after 1,214 career games. These are the second most games for a player before his first final.
Only Kevin Willis played in more games before reaching the NBA’s biggest stage.
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