NEW ORLEANS – Usually short-tempered, Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams had some sharp remarks about the refereeing after the New Orleans Pelicans took match 4 with a score of 118-103 on Sunday and tied the series in the first round at 2-2.
The Pelicans shot 42 free throws against 15 of the Suns, and in the first half the difference was 17-2. The Suns were called up for 12 more fouls in a classic physical playoff game.
“You can cut it any way you like,” Williams said. “In a playoff game that physically, [the disparity] is amazing. Coaches shouldn’t come to the microphone and feel like they’re going to have their heads cut off because they’re telling the truth. “
Pelicans ‘game plan was to test the Suns’ interior, and Brandon Ingram and Jonas Valanchunas combined 21 free throws. Ingram finished with 30 points to become the first Pelicans player in the team’s history to score 30 or more in three consecutive playoff games. Valanchunas bounced back after a poor performance in Match 3 and scored 26 points with 15 rebounds.
The Pelicans made 46 strokes in the fight, but the Suns themselves made 41.
Phoenix goalkeeper Chris Paul did not go to the foul line after making 14 appearances in the first three games. He was left without a result in the fourth quarter, where he dominated the series, and tied the playoffs in his career with just four points in total.
1 Related
“It’s not like we’re not attacking a basket,” Williams said. “They beat us; they deserve to win. This is the difference in free throws that you have to look at … it’s hard [to] swallow. “
Paul offered his point.
“It’s like the old NBA, isn’t it?” Paul said. “I once asked one of the judges, ‘Are we playing in the old NBA or the new NBA?’ I was lucky enough to play in both, we just need to know which one it will be.”
Pelicans coach Willie Green said his team was determined to want to enter the fight and to the free throw line.
“We were aggressive … They dominated the fight in the last game,” Green said. “We had 64 points in the paint. So we were well aware that we needed to do better in this area.”
The Pelicans changed their strategy at the end of the match against Paul. Instead of relying on a switching strategy to deny him drives that had largely failed in the series, Green instructed his team to catch Paul in the fourth quarter. Paul had four of his 11 assists in the fourth, but pushing the ball out of his hands was clearly effective.
“I’m tired of hearing him break records in the fourth quarter,” said Pelicans guard CJ McCollum. “It simply came to our notice then. Especially our intensity. But it’s also a league to make or miss. He will not make every blow. But some evenings he will make very difficult. Tonight, he missed several shots in his last three games. Trust our protection. But it’s a league to make or miss. “
Jose Alvarado, the undefeated rookie who has already built a reputation as a defensive pest, seems to have annoyed Paul with his protection from pressure throughout the court. Alvarado forced Paul to commit an offense in 8 seconds and committed two thefts.
Usually the supervisor and master of the fourth quarter Paul lost his temper several times out of disappointment. He committed a foul on Herb Jones – who played a great defense all night with three blocks and two stolen thefts – and then Paul was hit with a technical foul. Alvarado later pushed Aaron Holiday to a technical foul as the Smoothie King Center audience chanted the rhythmic “Jose, Jose, Jose” to the famous tune “Ole, ole, ole.”
“He’s a good kid who plays hard,” Paul told Alvarado. “He’s a really good man with energy. I’ll be better in the next game. I have to be.”
The Suns were without star Devin Booker for a second straight competition as he returns from a hamstring injury sustained in Match 2 last week. Booker is making progress in his recovery, but there is no official schedule for his return.
Without Booker, Suns’ attack crashed. After winning 4 of 26 with 3 points in a close win in Game 3 on Friday, the Suns were only 7 out of 27 on Sunday. Booker’s deputy in the starting lineup, Kam Johnson, is just 6 of 19 shots in both games.
“We can’t worry [Booker]Said Williams. “Obviously we need Book back, but that’s not why we lost the game.”
ESPN’s Andrew Lopez contributed to this report.
Add Comment