![]() George had 21 points and nine rebounds coming off his career playoff high that staved off elimination and brought his team back home for another chance.īut the exhausted Clippers - who rallied from 0-2 series deficits in getting to the West finals for the first time in franchise history - had little left in the tank. Marcus Morris led the Clippers with 26 points despite playing with a sore knee. ''We knew we broke them,'' Jae Crowder said. Beverley turned around and shoved Paul hard in the back, sending him to the floor. Going into a timeout with 5:48 remaining, Paul stared at Patrick Beverley as he walked by. ![]() Their only other finals appearance was in 1976, a loss to the Boston Celtics in six games. The Suns last made the NBA Finals in 1993, when they were led by Charles Barkley and lost to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in six games. They knocked off the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in the first round and swept Denver in the semifinals. The Suns had the league's second-best record in this pandemic-interrupted season. Phoenix is the first team to reach the NBA Finals after a 10-year playoff drought. ''This is what we set out to get tonight, so we didn't want to go back to Phoenix without it,'' Booker said. Paul's family, including leaping 12-year-old son, Chris, celebrated in a suite. The West trophy glinted under the arena lights as orange-clad Suns fans outcheered boos from Clippers fans. ''But this group right here, this group right here,'' he said, gesturing at his Suns teammates wearing NBA Finals hats. This is a team I have the utmost respect for, I'll always be a Clipper. These fans, Billy Crystal, that's my family. ''I'm just so happy for all the people around me,'' Paul said on the court after the game, ''and the Clippers are my family, too. The 36-year-old guard punished his old team with 31 points in the second half and tied his playoff career high of 41 - the same amount Paul George had in pushing the Clippers to a road win in Game 5. Paul reached the NBA Finals for the first time on the same Staples Center court where he helped bring the Clippers to respectability over six seasons that ended in 2017 without ever getting past the second round. ''It's been a lot, I'm telling you,'' he said. Add in numerous surgeries and making the conference finals one other time, only to fall short. He injured his shoulder in the first round against the Lakers. ![]() Paul missed the first two games against the Clippers after testing positive for the coronavirus. ''He has persevered through a lot - injuries, playoff heartbreak.'' ''He was still making those kind of plays, getting to the basket, 3s, orchestrating everything. ''He was tired,'' Suns coach Monty Williams said of Paul. They will face either the Atlanta Hawks or Milwaukee Bucks, who are tied 2-2 in the East finals. Paul scored 41 points and Devin Booker added 22 to send the Suns to their third finals appearance in franchise history. ''I was on a don't-lose mission,'' Paul said. Paul led the Phoenix Suns into their first NBA Finals in 28 years, beating the Los Angeles Clippers 130-103 on Wednesday night to close out the Western Conference finals in six games. Not when, after 16 years, he will finally play for an NBA title. ![]() A message in black ink on his shoes said it all: Can't give up now. LOS ANGELES (AP) Tears welled in Chris Paul's eyes.
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