Chris Paul offered a matter-of-fact explanation for why he went up for an uncontested layup instead of dribbling out the clock in the final seconds of the Houston Rockets’ win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.
The Rockets were up 119-112 on the Blazers with under 20 seconds left when Paul decided to go in for a layup to make it 121-112. The layup left Damian Lillard upset, and he let Paul know it.
Paul hit an unnecessary layup late, and Lillard let him know he wasn't happy about it. #RipCity pic.twitter.com/yV8F2Fo56u
— NBC Sports Northwest (@NBCSNorthwest) January 11, 2018
So why did CP3 go in for the layup? Lillard says the Rockets guard told him it’s because Portland wasn’t defending the basket.
Lillard said he asked Chris Paul "what is that going to get for you?" and he said Paul retorted by saying "you all weren't guarding."
— Jason Quick (@jwquick) January 11, 2018
Lillard said after the game that he didn’t care for Paul’s actions. He felt it wasn’t very respectful or sportsmanlike.
Lillard on confronting CP3 at end of game after Paul scored with 12.8 seconds left: "First of all, we lost the game fair and square. It wasn’t a play that impacted us winning or losing, so I wasn’t salty about that." (1/2)
— Jason Quick (@jwquick) January 11, 2018
Lillard on CP3 (continued): "They won the game, they did more things than we did … but as far as sportsmanship goes, and you know, respect … if the roles were reversed, I don’t think they would like it." (2/2)
— Jason Quick (@jwquick) January 11, 2018
Terry Stotts on Chris Paul scoring with 13 seconds left and Rockets up 7: “He can do whatever he wants.” Did say most players adhere to unwritten rule to not attempt shot in that situation.
— Jason Quick (@jwquick) January 11, 2018
We’ve seen teams make improbable comebacks in the past, so there’s never anything wrong with playing to the final whistle.
Sure, many players are content to dribble out the clock especially when opponents are conceding, but not Chris Paul.
