The Oklahoma City Thunder were finally able to return fire on the Houston Rockets in their first-round, best-of-seven series. They won Game 3 in overtime this past Sunday, 119-107, to keep themselves within striking distance. Though they still trail, 2-1, it’s a good start into their climb back.
The win provided a sigh of relief for the Thunder, especially their veteran floor general, Chris Paul, who finally had a consistently efficient performance. The future Hall-of-Famer was quick to take the blame for OKC’s losses in Games 1 and 2, where they lost by 15 and 13 points, respectively. Game 2 was particularly bad for Paul as he finished with 14 quiet points and horrid a -36 plus-minus.
Here’s what he said following that tough loss:
“I gotta do more… I gotta be better … We put ourselves in position to win [Game 2] and I gotta be better for us.”
In trying to prove his reputation as one of the game’s fiercest competitors, Paul didn’t fully rely on his usual facilitating ways for Game 3 as he instead turned back the clock to be a high-scoring point guard. He put up 26 points and drained four three-pointers, which included plenty of timely buckets in the clutch.
CP3 had a pair of trifectas in the extra period, one of which was this bailout attempt that turned into a dagger shot:
Prior to that, though, Paul’s court vision was in display at crunch time as he made a key pass to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for a go-ahead three, right before regulation ended.
Check out how he collapsed the defense with a quick first step:
Paul broke down the crucial play during the postgame media sessions, and said that he and SGA had it perfectly mapped out in the huddle:
“We talked about it in the huddle. Said we wanted to try to go to a matchup. Once I got that matchup, I knew that help was going to have to come over from somewhere.”
“So once I got by, the pass is easy. Shai had the hard part in knocking down the shot, and that was a big shot for us.”
Paul has been a great leader for the Thunder, and has bounced back from his turbulent, injury-riddled 2018-19 campaign with the Rockets. He ended the regular season averaging 17.6 points, 6.7 assists, and 1.6 steals per game on 48.9% shooting (his highest in 10 years).
He was thought of as OKC’s trade chip when he got swapped for Russell Westbrook since the Thunder appeared to be rebuilding, but he eventually stayed put. Paul just kept stirring the ship, and before everyone knew it, they’ve progressed as a playoff contender in the Western Conference.
Also as important is his role as a mentor to SGA, who, despite not having his court vision, is just as fearless when attacking the defense. Paul has been instrumental in letting the 21-year-old loose and unlocking his breakout year.
Through the guidance, SGA has established himself as one of OKC’s go-to option, and he eventually finished the 2019-20 regular season leading the team in scoring at 19 PPG.
Paul, SGA, and the rest of the Thunder are looking to tie the series on August 24 at 4 AM (Manila time).
