Suns’ Chris Paul ends Knicks’ nine-game winning streak with absurd late-game shot-making display
Chris Paul #ChrisPaul
The New York Knicks had won nine games in a row entering Monday’s clash with the Phoenix Suns, and when they built a 15-point lead, it certainly looked like their streak was headed for double digits. Unfortunately for them, they ran into one of the NBA’s premier clutch scorers.
By the fourth quarter, Phoenix had come back to take the lead. They led by as many as eight points, but with 1:57 remaining in the game, the Knicks had cut the deficit back down to four thanks in large part to some clutch scoring by Derrick Rose, who led New York with 22 total points. And then, Chris Paul took over.
Devin Booker missed a circus shot, but a DeAndre Ayton rebound gave the Suns a second chance. Paul took advantage. He drew Reggie Bullock on a switch and beat him with a stepback mid-range jumper.
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The next possession was the craziest. With the shot clock about to expire, Paul hoisted up a miracle heave with both Julius Randle and Derrick Rose in his way. Swish. That pushed the lead back up to five following a 3-pointer by Randle.
And then, the icing on the cake. Paul clinched the game with another dagger at the end of the shot clock. This one came from behind the arc with only 13.8 seconds remaining to push the lead to an insurmountable eight points.
Paul has led the NBA’s No. 1 ranked clutch offense in two of the past four seasons, once with the Houston Rockets and once with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Shots like these are why. His mid-range arsenal is tailor-made for the end of close games, and the Knicks saw that firsthand on Monday. Even with the momentum of a nine-game winning streak behind them, they were no match for Chris Paul.