Chris Paul Finally Got Over The Hump As He Led The Rockets To The Conference Finals

When Chris Paul joined the Houston Rockets, expectations were through the roof that the future Hall of Fame guard would make his first trip to the Conference Finals. That expectation became a reality on Tuesday evening when the Rockets upended the Utah Jazz in Game 5 with Paul leading the way for Houston.

The Rockets came out on top, 112-102. Paul finished the contest with a game-best 41 points on 13-for-22 shooting and 8-for-10 shooting from three. He also contributed 10 assists, seven rebounds, and an unfathomable zero turnovers to key Houston’s closing kick in the fourth quarter. In fact, Paul scored 13 consecutive points for the heavily-favored Rockets in the closing period and, when the dust settled, that individual brilliance was enough to ensure the series-clinching victory.

The first half of Game 5 wasn’t exactly aesthetically appealing as both teams struggled offensively. That was particularly true in the first quarter, with both teams failing to shoot even 40 percent from the floor, but there were signs of life from Houston in the form of an 11-0 run.

Following that slow start, things began to heat up, including the fact that Paul scored 15 points and dished out six assists prior to halftime. That was combined with a sensational output from P.J. Tucker (making his first five shots, including three triples), and the Rockets were able to take a four-point lead into the break.

The third quarter, though, was owned by Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell and not even Paul’s overarching performance could stop that from coming to fruition. Mitchell went off to the tune of 22 points on 11 shots in the period and he almost singlehandedly erased an 11-point deficit while turning it into a Utah lead.

Unfortunately for the Jazz, their lead guard would be forced to the locker room after suffering an apparent leg injury with 7:09 remaining in the fourth quarter. It should be noted that the Rockets were leading by five points when he exited but, with Mitchell out of commission, Utah was unable to generate the consistent offense necessary to keep up with Houston. In the end, Paul’s heroics were simply too much.

There were other strong performances for the Rockets (particularly from Tucker) in Game 5 but it was the Chris Paul show for much of the night, as James Harden (7-for-22 shooting) struggled to some degree.

When the Rockets brought in Paul, the dream was to operate for 48 minutes with one of the game’s best offensive initiators at the helm and showings like this one serve as a reminder of what Houston can be when one (or both) is cooking at full steam. Chris Paul won’t play like this every night in the Western Conference Finals but he put on quite an act to lead the Rockets there and shed some of his (perceived) playoff demons in the process.