NEW ORLEANS — Chris Paul has accomplished so many things in his 17 NBA seasons that it’s nearly impossible to rank his Mount Rushmore moments.
Short of a title, perfection, however, might be hard to beat.
Paul was 14 for 14 — the most field goals without a miss in an NBA playoff game — in the Phoenix Suns’ 115-109, series-ending victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday night.
“I had no clue,” said Paul, the former Pelican who finished with 33 points and eight assists. “I think maybe at halftime I said I might have to shoot a little more. But throughout the game, I was literally managing the game. I wasn’t taking heat checks. I don’t shoot enough to have heat checks.”
The top-seeded Suns overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to finish off the Pelicans in six games. Phoenix set up a second-round series with Dallas, a 98-96 winner at Utah in another Game 6 later Thursday.
Paul led Phoenix to victories by scoring 19 points in the fourth quarter of Games 1 and 3 after trying to distribute the ball to teammates in the first three quarters. Suns coach Monty Williams said it was difficult to rank Paul’s achievements as a scorer, leader and game manager.
“I can’t even say because he’s done it so many times,” Williams said. “This is probably No. 1 because it just happened, and I knew how special New Orleans is to him. He cares deeply about the city and the fans and the children. It’s probably No. 1 because it just happened,”
Chris Paul finished with a game-high 33 points. Getty Images
Booker had no problem framing Paul’s performance.
“Nobody’s seen this — 14 for 14,” Booker said. “This is the first time for all of us.”
Booker returned from a hamstring injury to hit a late 3-pointer that gave the Suns the lead for good — fittingly, with an assist from Paul.
After Brandon Ingram gave New Orleans its final lead, 104-103, on a reverse baseline layup with…