The Houston Rockets moved on to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2015 with a 112-102 Game 5 win over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday.
Chris Paul led the way with a playoff career-high 41 points. It's the first time in the point guard's 13-year NBA career he's gone past the second round of the playoffs.
Paul exploded in the fourth quarter to eliminate the Jazz, scoring 20 points - a career best in a quarter in either the playoffs or regular season. He shot 13-of-22 from the floor, including an unconscious 8-for-10 from deep. He added 10 assists and registered no turnovers in 38 minutes.
That makes him the first player to score 40, drop 10 dimes, and record zero turnovers in a playoff game since turnovers became an official statistic in 1978, according to Elias Sports.
It's a huge moment for Paul, who turned 33 on Sunday. Despite averaging 21.5 points and 9.1 assists in 86 career postseason games, the "Point God" has been unfairly tagged as a playoff choker over the years by virtue of the failures of his former team, the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Rockets now await the winner of the Golden State Warriors-New Orleans Pelicans series.
