In the Houston Rockets' series-clinching victory over the Utah Jazz last night it was 33-year old Point God Chris Paul who led the way, posting a playoff career-high 41 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds and zero turnovers. According to Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first 40-point, 10-assist, no-turnover playoff line since turnovers became an official stat 40 years ago.
Most importantly, 13 years into his illustrious NBA career, Paul has finally reached the Western Conference Finals. But he's clearly not satisfied.
"Not at all. Who plays just for that?" Paul told ESPN in regards to reaching the Conference Finals. "Know what I'm saying? Not at all, not at all. We've got eight more wins to get. I don't know what it's supposed to feel like, but we've still got a lot of work to do."
CP3 was 13-of-22 from the floor last night, including 8-of-10 from three-point range, and he scored or assisted on 26 of the Rockets' 37 points in the fourth quarter, according to ESPN. He scored 20 points in the fourth, which marks the highest-scoring quarter of his career, regular season or postseason, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
James Harden, who finished with 18 points in the Rockets' 112-102 victory, described Paul's series-clinching performance as "unbelievable."
"Unbelievable. He went out there and took over the game," said Harden, per ESPN. "Especially for an opportunity like he's never had before, he went to go get it. He put us all on his back and said, 'Listen, I got us.' That's big time right there. That's a big-time performance. He got in his bag and he called everybody off. He said, 'You get out the way, I'm going to put us on my back.' He had that look in his eye."
The Rockets will now shift their attention to the defending champion Golden State Warriors - the series that everyone has been waiting for all season. Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals is scheduled to tipoff in Houston on Monday, May 14, at 9:00pm ET.