Chris Paul’s brain was faster than his body in Suns’ 123-119 loss to Bucks in Game 5
Chris Paul #ChrisPaul
Chris Paul’s brain was faster than his body Saturday night.
It happens to every athlete, eventually. Play long enough and you’ll see opportunities you can’t execute.
For Paul, the realization had been clear long before he checked in to start the fourth quarter of the Suns 123-119 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, but he went out there anyway.
Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning.
He’s never been an NBA champion, but he was showing championship heart. If the Bucks were going to beat him, they were going to have to knock him out.
With about 10 minutes left and the Suns trailing by 10 points, Paul found himself with the ball near the free-throw line, his back was to the basket, but he could see in his peripheral vision Cam Johnson open in the corner. Paul whipped a crosscourt pass that should have given Johnson an open shot.
The pass was high and wide. Johnson could only try to save it from going out of bounds. Bobby Portis ended up with the steal. Milwaukee ended up with the game.
It looks like they’re going to take the series.
Teams that win Game 5 of a 2-2 NBA Finals go on to win the series 72 percent of the time (21-8), and teams that lead the NBA Finals 3-2 go on to win the series 81 percent of the time (38-9), according to USA TODAY NBA writer Jeff Zillgitt.
The Bucks are now up 3-2 with the series headed back to Milwaukee for Game 6.
To win this series and the first NBA championship in franchise history, the Suns will need to find hope in the reality that eight teams didn’t care that they had to win two in a row to take the title, they did it anyway.
Besides, their defense failed them far more than their point guard.
The Suns gave up 43 points in the second quarter. That pace sustained for an entire game would have been good for 172 points.
Paul — one of the greatest players to ever touch a basketball, the final piece of the Suns’ Western Conference championship puzzle, the flint that helped spark the dormant fire in one of the nation’s best hoops cities — wasn’t going out like that.
His buddies from Los Angeles, LeBron James and Lil Wayne, were sitting courtside.
The entire basketball world was watching.
Could he find just enough more magic to make the impossible possible?
Everything on him was aching, it seemed.
With about 5 minutes left, Paul got Giannis Antetokounmpo on a switch and started the ballhandling wizardry that has defined the modern era of NBA basketball.
Antetokounmpo didn’t stand a chance.
Paul moved the 7-footer all around the floor then put up a little fadeaway that Antetokounmpo couldn’t touch.
It pulled the score to 113-107.
A few minutes later, Paul flashed past Pat Connaughton for a layup to pull the Suns to within one point, 120-119.
But in the end, he didn’t have enough juice to squeeze Phoenix past Milwaukee.
This isn’t over.
But an improbable comeback is going to be that much more unlikely with Chris Paul’s brain moving faster than his body.
Reach Moore at gmoore@azcentral.com or 602-444-2236. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter @SayingMoore.
There’s plenty Moore where this came from. Subscribe for videos, columns, opinions and analysis from The Arizona Republic’s award-winning sports team.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Chris Paul’s brain was faster than his body in Suns’ 123-119 loss to Bucks in Game 5