The Tribune

• Chris Paul showing no signs of age

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

DEANDRE Ayton made 10 field goals in his Phoenix Suns’ win over the Los Angeles Lakers Sunday night, but none were bigger than the one that helped Chris Paul secure a place in NBA history.

Midway through the third quarter, the duo executed a textbook pick-and-roll which led to the veteran point guard lofting a lob to Ayton who finished with a dunk to mark the 10,000th assist of Paul’s career.

“I was so happy. From the beginning from when we got CP, I’ve been excited. Just that whole moment — the way he got his 10k assist with a bang — and me being a part of that, I definitely felt it,” Ayton said to reporters on a postgame Zoom call. “The whole gym knew what was going on, it definitely felt like something that was bigger than basketball. It was great to be a part of that and we just wanted to finish off the game strong.”

Ayton finished with 26 points on 10-13 shooting from the field and 6-7 from the free throw line. He also added eight rebounds, two assists and one block Sunday in a 111-94 win at the PHX Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. It was the second time this season that Ayton made at least 10 field goals and five free throws. Ayton is currently one of only four NBA players averaging 14 points and shooting over 60.0 percent from the field this season. He is also averaging 10.9 rebounds per game.

Paul finished the win over the Lakers with his first triple double as a Sun - 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists.

With 10,004 assists, Paul became just the sixth player in NBA history to surpass the 10,000 assists mark. He is now sixth all-time behind John Stockton (15,806), Jason Kidd (12,091), Steve Nash (10,335), Mark Jackson (10,334) and Magic Jonson (10,141).

Ayton said the addition of Paul has transformed the organisation’s mindset into a playoff contender.

“He’s a guy who pays attention to details. He sees things we can’t see and it’ll help us in the long run. It’s just being prepared, having that playoff mindset, knowing the team’s tendencies, knowing their bread and butter, just knowing what teams want, knowing their best players, getting the ball out of their hands,” Ayton said.

“Being this type of player, he put this pressure on me to be the anchor of the defence, knowing that whatever I say goes. Just being on top of that and having your teammates look out for you. He just increases your awareness.”

The Suns currently occupy the No.2 seed in the Western Conference standings at 28-13.

The defending champion Lakers are currently No.3 at 28-15 with both perennial All-Stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis sidelined with injuries.

Ayton said the game plan called for him to take advantage of his mismatches in the low post.

“We still were going to respect them as an NBA team, not really settling on who’s playing and who’s not playing but we just came in to handle our business and make sure we stuck to our principles,” he said.

“It was a bit of a mismatch game down low, CP and the guys really found me early on early steals and it really got me going feeling the touch of the jump hook. I got to the line a couple of times so it was all good all around.”

The Suns are scheduled to travel to face the Miami Heat at 8pm tonight in Miami, Florida.