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Paul’s teammates had nothing but praise for him.

Last night saw the Phoenix Suns go up against the Dallas Mavericks as the best NBA teams battle it out in the Playoffs. For a large portion of the game, the Suns were only just barely managing to keep the lead, but in the fourth quarter, they suddenly shot up 40 points, 14 of which were contributed by veteran guard Chris Paul.

“You’ve just got to lean on the work,” Paul told reporters after the game. “It all goes back to the work.

“You can’t cheat the game. You’ve got to do the strength and conditioning, you’ve got to lift, you’ve got to get your rest, you got to get your shots up.

“When you do that, you live with the results.”

Paul has been in the game for longer than any of his teammates, but his consistently excellent performance has earned him their enduring respect.

“You guys tell me, you’re watching the same thing,” said Suns guard Devin Booker. “It impresses us every time we see it, but it doesn’t surprise us. It’s just the will to win.”

Chris Paul became the first player with 20 points on 90% shooting in multiple halves over the last 25 postseasons.

Both have come this postseason. pic.twitter.com/9Jzte7xlmn

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 5, 2022

Meanwhile, the Mavericks turned in a respectable, but generally average performance compared to the Suns, thanks mostly to the 35 points scored by point guard Luka Doncic. The Mavericks’ head coach, Jason Kidd, was happy with Doncic, but wants more from the rest of the team.

“He had a great game, but no one else showed. We’ve got to get other guys shooting the ball better,” Kidd said. “We can’t win with just him out there scoring 30 a night – not at this time of the year. And we’re playing the best team in the league, so we’ve got to get other guys going.”