CJ Mccollum and the New Orleans Pelicans had the chance to make a big statement against the Phoenix Suns in the NBA playoffs. They could have taken the series lead in Game 3 and capitalized on Devin Booker's absence in front of their home crowd. Unfortunately for them, Chris Paul and company took care of business and the Pels lost 114-111.

New Orleans lost primarily at the hands of Paul and Deandre Ayton. While the latter recorded 28 points and 17 rebounds, the former scored 28 points and dished out 14 assists in a marvelous display of commanding the floor.

McCollum had some very high praise for Paul after the Suns defeated the Pelicans, per Will Guillory of The Atheltic.

“He’s a Hall of Famer. (He’s) arguably the greatest point guard of all time, and he looked like it tonight,” Pels guard CJ McCollum, who had 30 points in the loss, said. “He hit big shots. He closed the game at the free-throw line. We have to make it more difficult. But he’s seen it all. We have to continue to try to make it tough.”

The Pelicans put up a strong fight, with McCollum scoring 30 points and Brandon Ingram tallying 34 points. They were unable to stop Paul down the stretch, though, and now are behind in the series 2-1. McCollum warned that the Suns would fight harder to make up for the loss of Booker and he was right.

New Orleans will host the pivotal Game 4. Evening up the series before it heads back to Phoenix will be extremely important. Their impressive run could end in five games in the NBA playoffs if they can't slow down Paul. The series could come down to a Chris Paul-CJ McCollum showdown in the end.