Phoenix Suns star point guard Chris Paul made his NBA Finals debut on Tuesday night, and he controlled Game 1 against the Milwaukee Bucks with 32 points and nine assists while shooting a red-hot 12-of-17 from the field. Behind Paul's dominance, the Suns cruised to a 118-105 victory.
Paul scored or assisted on 54 points in the win, the third-most for a player making his Finals debut in NBA history behind only Allen Iverson (61) and Michael Jordan (60). Iverson took note of this feat and had to congratulate his fellow diminutive star:
View this post on Instagram
While the Suns star's Game 1 was awesome, Allen Iverson's performance in Game 1 of the 2001 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers was truly an incredible one. The Answer put up 48 points in a shocking Game 1 upset on the road and infamously stepped over Tyronn Lue in the process. Of course, the Lakers won the next four games to secure the NBA title, but this was their only loss of the postseason.
Michael Jordan actually lost his NBA Finals debut against the Lakers in 1991 despite scoring 36 points, and he even missed the potential game-winner in the final seconds. But then the Chicago Bulls won the next four games to win the first of Jordan's six championships, so it's easy to forget that missed shot.
CP3's NBA Finals debut was just the latest big-time performance for The Point God in these playoffs. Paul was coming off a dominant 41-point effort to close out the Los Angeles Clippers, and he got the Suns off to a terrific start in this series with this game. Devin Booker helped him out with 27 points and six assists in his own Finals debut.
Phoenix will look to make it a 2-0 series lead on Thursday night. Like Paul and Booker, the Suns are trying to win their first championship ever.
Follow Us
Subscribe