Chris Paul quickly went from the hunter to the hunted against his old team.
Paul’s Phoenix Suns faced the Houston Rockets on Sunday night. Late in the first half, Paul unsuccessfully tried to draw a swipe-through foul on Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. Play continued, and Porter poked the ball away. The two players fought for the loose ball, and Paul got frustrated. He gave Porter a shove and then gestured angrily at referee Brian Forte, who hit Paul with a technical foul. Porter could be seen in the background gesturing for the T.
Of course, frustrating his opponents to the point that they lose their cool is a Paul specialty. He has pulled it out of his bag of tricks many times over the years, sometimes even in heated playoff battles. That is part of what makes Paul so widely disliked by other fan bases.
The Suns would go on to cruise to a 115-89 victory over the Rockets. But for one brief shining moment, Porter, who is 15 years Paul’s junior, got to tell him, “The future is now, old man.”
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