Suns Notes: Paul, Ayton, Role Players, Saric

Chris Paul and the Suns picked-and-rolled the Bucks into submission in Game 1 of the Finals, and Paul has looked at least as good as ever at the age of 36.

But age is just a number, and the only numbers that matter to the Suns are Paul’s 32 points and nine assists. He has now compiled 73 total points over the past two games.

“Chris Paul, he’s been a bucket, man,” Suns guard Devin Booker said. “I mean, he obviously gets his team involved. He’s been a bucket for a very long time. And my six years of playing against him, or five years of playing against him, you understand that. There’s no scouting report that says Chris Paul can’t get a bucket.”

Suns coach Monty Williams offered similar sentiments.

“He’s one of those rare guys that can see the floor, and he knows where all five guys should be,” Williams said of Paul. “He took advantage of his opportunities (Tuesday) versus their switching defense, and thankfully he made shots.”

More from Phoenix

• Suns center Deandre Ayton “punctuated” his improvement with a 22-point, 19-rebound eruption in Game 1, per the Arizona Republic. Ayton also finished 8-of-10 shooting and did a strong job of protecting the basket.
• The Suns’ younger role players also did an underrated job of forcing the Bucks to play a tempo “in which they didn’t look comfortable,” wrote José M. Romero of the Arizona Republic. That list includes Mikal Bridges, Cameron Payne and Cam Johnson.
• Suns forward Dario Saric exited Game 1 with a right knee injury and never returned. It was later revealed he suffered a torn ACL and is out for the rest of the series.