The Suns are playing with a lot of momentum heading into Game 4, especially after their big victory to retake home court advantage. Can the Pelicans recover and tie the series at 2-2?

Catch this game live on April 25, at 9:30 AM, Manila time.

Away: Phoenix Suns (2-1, 1-0 Away)

Projected Starting Five:

  • PG: Chris Paul
  • SG: Cam Johnson
  • SF: Mikal Bridges
  • PF: Jae Crowder
  • C: DeAndre Ayton

It was a tale of two halves for the Phoenix Suns offense. They relied heavily on DeAndre Ayton in the first half, and he came up big by scoring 21 points on 10 of 14 shooting over the first two quarters.

His offense ended up drying up afterward, though, but he then went to work on the boards as he finished with 28 points, 17 rebounds and three steals while shooting 13 of 20 overall. 

Fortunately for the Suns, they also have Chris Paul on their team. The Point God has a history of turning it on in the fourth quarter against the team the drafted him, and he did it for the second time in the same series in Game 3. Paul scored or assisted in 21 of the Suns’ 33 fourth quarter points and carried them to the W.

With the confidence gained from that victory, the Suns will be the ones looking to continue piling on the pain.

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Home: New Orleans Pelicans (1-2, 0-1 Home)

Projected Starting Five:

  • PG: CJ McCollum
  • SG: Herbert Jones
  • SF: Brandon Ingram
  • PF: Jaxson Hayes
  • C: Jonas Valanciunas

The Pelicans are putting all of their energy into making this a series, and they’ve done an admirable job. They’ve got a pair of bonafide stars of their own in Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum.

Ingram had a strong game with 34 points and seven rebounds on 11 of 19 shooting, while McCollum had 30 points, four rebounds and seven assists while shooting 11 of 23 from the field. 

Jonas Valanciunas needs to do better, though, especially when it comes to slowing down DeAndre Ayton. Valanciunas had six points and 11 rebounds in Game 3, and the Pelicans are going to need more from their talented big man.

The Pelicans kept it close in Game 3, but they’ve got to find a way to go on bigger runs earlier in the game. That’s easier said than done against a team like the Suns, who count Defensive Player of the Year finalist Mikal Bridges on their team.

PREDICTION:

Spread: I think the Suns do enough to cover the -2.5 spread.

Over/Under: The over 216 was hit in a ridiculous way in Game 3, but I feel the over 215 is still going to hit in Game 4.

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