Suns’ Paul in starting lineup for Game 3 against Clippers

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Chris Paul was in the starting lineup for the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night in Game 3 against the Los Angeles Clippers after missing the first two games of the Western Conference finals while in the NBA’s health and safety protocols.

Paul was upgraded to available from probable on the league’s injury report and participated in the team’s shootaround Thursday.

“He’s back with us,” forward Jae Crowder said. “It was great to have him on the court, walk through a few things, talk to him about some stuff that we’ve been talking about amongst one another. It was great to just have one of our guys back in the lineup and ready to go,”

The 36-year-old point guard averaged 25.5 points, 10.2 assists and 5.0 rebounds in the second round against Denver. He scored a game-high 37 points in final game of the series June 13.

Phoenix has been on a roll, winning nine straight postseason games, including the first two against the Clippers series.

Paul — who played for the Clippers from 2011-17 — was named to the All-NBA second team earlier this week. He averaged 16.4 points during the regular season.

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