In it Footprint Center and for the fifth game of the first round of the playoffs the Western Conference of the NBA, Phoenix won by 112-97 a New Orleans and went to the front 3-2 in the series.
The local was up on the scoreboard from the beginning to the end. They managed to get a maximum difference of 18 points, which the visit managed to reduce to seven (99-92) in the last quarter, but in the decisive stretch the best team of the regular season prevailed.
The excellent defense of Suns forced the opponent to shoot just 40% of his attempts from the field and commit 15 turnovers. On the other side, those led by Monty Williams scored 50% of their shots from the field (37% in triples), while they distributed 28 assists, twice as much as their opponent.
The great figure of the night was Mikal Bridgeswho probably played the best game of his career: he recorded 31 points (12/17 from the field), five rebounds, two steals and four blocks. Chris Paul added a new double-double (22 units and 11 assists), while DeAndre Ayton fell short by one rebound (19 and 9).
On the other hand, Brandon Ingram (7/19) and CJ McCollum (7/22) combined for a lousy 34% shooting rate. The most efficient was Jonas Valanciunas, who only needed 11 shots to total 17 units, which he accompanied with 14 recoveries.
This Thursday the sixth match will be played at the Smoothie King Center and, if necessary, the key will be defined on Sunday in Arizona.
Foto: Getty Images
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