Chris Paul gutted through a right shoulder contusion to help the Phoenix Suns close out the Los Angeles Lakers 99-90 in Game 1 of their first-round series Sunday.
"I talked to him briefly just now and his words to me was he was okay and he would be okay moving forward," Suns head coach Monty Williams said after the game. "He was pretty sore when he came back but him playing today gave us a lot of juice, a lot of energy. It was inspirational to watch him out there, give it his all on both sides of the floor."
Paul said he "absolutely" will be ready for Game 2 on Tuesday.
He suffered the injury with nine minutes, 24 seconds remaining in the first half when LeBron James leaped over him for a putback layup. Paul swiped for the ball with his right arm, losing his balance. As his momentum took him toward the floor, the point guard's head knocked against the right arm of teammate Cameron Johnson.
Paul immediately writhed on the floor in pain as members of both the Suns and Lakers surrounded him after Phoenix called timeout.
He was helped up to his feet by James and members of the Suns' medical staff. James -- friends with Paul since high school -- gave the guard a hug before Paul retreated to the locker room for observation.
Paul returned to the bench a short time later and was met with a roar from the home crowd. He checked back into the game at the 5:32 mark of the second quarter.
The Suns point guard looked limited by the injury but still left his mark by hitting a clutch jumper to end a Lakers run midway through the fourth quarter.
"Any time a guy lays it on the line physically like that after taking that kind of hit, it gives you juice," Williams said. "Then you think about every experience Chris has had, how many games he's played, everything he has accomplished. Nobody would've faulted him for not coming back but when he did come back, we saw the emotion on his face and I thought that drove our guys. I got emotional just watching him battle tonight."
Paul finished with seven points and eight assists in 36 minutes.
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