Everyone loves to talk about LeBron James' longevity, and rightfully so, but Paul should be mentioned in the same breath. Paul has now recorded a 15-point, 15-assist, zero-turnover game in three different decades. He finished with a 15-0 assist-to-turnover ratio. Equally as impressive as the sheer number of assists that he had was how Paul didn't record a single turnover during the entire game. When all was said and done, Paul had compiled 15 assists, which is tied for the third most he's ever had in a playoff game - and he's played in a whole lot of playoff games. Paul picked apart Denver's defense with precision passing, and he set his teammates up with open opportunity after open opportunity over the course of the contest. CP3 put on a playmaking clinicĬhris Paul is one of the best playmakers in NBA history, and his passing ability was on full display in Game 2. Before moving on to that game, though, here are three key takeaways from Game 2. The Nuggets can't think about the odds, obviously, as their full focus needs to be on Game 3, which is scheduled for Friday night. So, it's not an impossible feat, but it is an unlikely one. The most recent example of this occurred in the first round this year, as the Los Angeles Clippers bested the Dallas Mavericks in seven games after dropping the first two games of the series. That's less than seven percent of the time. A total of 430 playoff series have started 2-0, and only 28 times has the team that gained the early advantage failed to win the series, per Land of Basketball. Unfortunately for Denver, the math isn't on its side. There, the Nuggets will obviously look to play better than they were able to do in Phoenix. The only good news for the Nuggets right now is that the series if about to shift to Denver for Games 3 and 4. There was an error processing your subscription. Moving forward, Nuggets coach Mike Malone is going to have to figure out a way to get his team going, particularly Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr., who combined for just 17 points on 6-of-20 shooting in Game 2. Freshly minted MVP Nikola Jokic paced the Nuggets with 24 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, but his production wasn't nearly enough, especially with minimal help from the guys around him. All five Suns starters scored in double figures, compared to only two for the Nuggets' first five. Phoenix appeared to be a step faster than Denver on both ends of the floor in the second game, as it got virtually whatever it wanted on the offensive end while simultaneously making things difficult defensively for Denver. Devin Booker also added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the surging Suns. Paul's assist-to-turnover ratio in the series is now a staggering 26-1. Chris Paul led the way for the Suns with 17 points, 15 assists and zero turnovers. The victory was the fifth straight for Phoenix this postseason. But it definitely won't be easy, given how well the Nuggets, specifically Nikola Jokic, have been playing.The Phoenix Suns pulled out a dominant 123-98 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead in the second-round series. But in the NBA, the history of a franchise seems to haunt it unceasingly, with the Los Angeles Clippers being the prime example.Įven then, with the series heading back to the Valley for Game 3, the Suns will essentially be playing for their playoff lives in front of a packed crowd that's desperate to witness its NBA franchise win its first-ever championship. Of course, past performance isn't necessarily indicative of future outcomes, especially when the Suns roster of today is different from that of those teams that lost before.

While a 2-0 series deficit isn't the end of the world for a Suns team boasting the services of both Booker and Kevin Durant, two of the best three-level scorers in today's game, their Game 2 loss doesn't bode well for the franchise, historically speaking.Īccording to SportsCenter, the Suns have a 0-13 all-time record in the playoffs in seven-game series they lost the first two games of.

However, the Suns seemed to lose all steam by the end of the fourth quarter as the Nuggets pulled away for a 97-87 victory to take a 2-0 series lead. And for much of Game 2, it seemed like the hard-fought battle between two Western Conference titans could go either way. Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns entered Game 2 with a strong mindset, especially as they try to bounce back from their blowout Game 1 loss to the Denver Nuggets.

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