Chris Paul Sold A DeMarcus Cousins Elbow Like The Rock Sold A Stone Cold Stunner

The third quarter of Game 6 in L.A. between the Clippers and Suns saw both teams make runs, with Phoenix ultimately going up 14 headed to the fourth, but it also saw things get a little chippy between some familiar foes.

Chris Paul closed the third on an 8-0 burst of his own, but in the middle of that there were the antics that have made him a despised player, in spite of his immense talent, for many. Paul shook DeMarcus Cousins on a drive and hit a floater in the paint, and then turned around to give Boogie a little bump. Cousins took the bait and put his elbow up high into Paul’s neck, not exactly with significant force but certainly to send a little message, and Paul proceeded to take a full on WWE-style bump.

The refs would take a look at the monitor and handed Cousins a technical foul for “a physical taunt,” which gave Paul a free throw that he missed in what many felt was an all-time “ball don’t lie” moment.

As many pointed out, Paul and Cousins have a lengthy history of this sort of thing, with Paul producing a legendary flop against Boogie back when CP3 played in L.A. and Cousins was in Sacramento.

The best part of all of it was Cousins watching the replay on the jumbotron and reacting with a knowing shake of the head, almost as if to say, I can’t believe he did it again.

https://twitter.com/_MarcusD3_/status/1410436472134672387

Since Paul missed the free throw it proved to be ultimately harmless, but will be a moment revisited plenty as Paul put forth another all-time flop. We weren’t alone in drawing the WWE comparison, as Twitter was flooded with wrestling (and soccer) GIFs after Paul’s antics.

https://twitter.com/DaveDuFourNBA/status/1410435868070907909

The good news for Paul is that his hot run continued into the early fourth quarter and, as such, the conversation after the game will hopefully be about his incredible play possibly getting him to his first Finals and not…that.