Houston Rockets point guard Chris Paul is trying to reach his first ever NBA Finals and he is not letting a sore foot get in the way of pursuing his goal.
After Tuesday night’s series tying, comeback 95-92 victory at Golden State in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni revealed that his point guard is dealing with soreness in his right foot during the series.
“Chris felt better. His foot felt better,” D’Antoni said. “I called him after Game 3, and he said, ‘Coach, I’m telling you, if I can get my foot right, we’ll beat these guys.’ Lo and behold, he got his foot right. And just like I said, we’re back to even.”
A source told ESPN that Paul’s foot has been bothering him since the fourth quarter of the Rockets’ Game 2 win Houston.
“It’s about as good as it’s going to be right now,” Paul said. “But for us, it’s not about that. It’s about going out there and getting stops and making big plays when we needed to.”
Paul played poorly in Game 3, when he seemed to lack explosiveness, finishing with 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting as the top-seeded Rockets suffered the most lopsided playoff loss in franchise history.
Asked how much better he felt pushing off that foot in Game 4, Paul said, “It was a huge difference.”
James Harden, who led the Rockets with 30 points, interrupted: “He’s fine, man.”
Paul, sitting next to Harden at the podium, immediately reverted to being tight-lipped about the injury.
“Yeah, but I’m fine,” Paul said. “So it’s cool.”
