Zion Williamson's late-game dunk mirrors similar Chris Paul 2018 moment

The Phoenix Suns fumed after Zion Williamson's 360-windmill dunk in the final seconds of Friday night's Pelicans 128-117 win. 

Williamson delivered the crowd-loving (and Suns-hating) dunk instead of running out the clock.

Chris Paul exchanged words with Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado on the court after the game. Suns guard Cameron Payne told reporters afterward, "The game was pretty much over, and they just kept playing... We don't really like that." (h/t ESPN's Andrew Lopez)

Williamson breaking some unwritten rule by giving fans what they want isn't the issue. In Chris Paul's own words, the Suns' lack of defense was the most disgraceful thing in those waning moments.  

In a 121-112 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in Jan. 2018, Paul -- then a member of the Houston Rockets -- hit an easy layup instead of dribbling out the clock. (h/t Bleacher Report's Mike Chiari). 

Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard relayed a conversation he and Paul had immediately following that 2018 game. 

"I just asked him, I said, 'What did you get out of that?' He said, 'Y'all wasn't guarding,'" per Chiari. Pelicans guard C.J. McCollum was on that Portland team. 

Phoenix should have considered Paul's words on Friday night. Instead, the team was its toughest after the game. The Suns took a one-point lead with 4:28 remaining in the fourth on the strength of their three-point shooting. The Suns hit 22 threes to the Pelicans' eight. New Orleans led in free throw attempts, 35-13, while shooting 38-of-63 (60 percent) from two-point range while the Suns were 21-of-42 (50 percent).

The New Orleans Pelicans and Phoenix Suns have unresolved issues following last year's first-round playoff series the Suns won in six games. The tension boiled over off the court after Williamson delivered his emphatic dunk.

The teams won't have long to stew over Friday night's fracas. We get another serving of this early season playoff-like atmosphere on Sunday, once again in New Orleans.

Unless the Suns take Paul's words to heart, expect Williamson to continue rewriting the rules.