Suns rising at the right time, roar into conference finals

“Monty has been through things in his life that a lot of people don’t necessarily come back from,” said Paul, who scored 13 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter. “Basketball aside, he means so much to me and my family. So to be on this journey with him and to see it paying off is nice. We’re a lot alike. We stay locked in. I don’t feel good until the buzzer sounds. Monty’s the same way. When the series is over, and the game is over, it’s nice to share those moments.”

The last time the Suns were this far was 2010 behind a cast that included the likes of Amar’e Stoudemire, Steve Nash, Jason Richardson and Grant Hill. They fell to Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers 4-2.

“The emotions are happy, grateful, tired, relieved,” Williams said of advancing to the conference finals. “It’s one of those moments for me that quite frankly I never thought I’d have a chance to experience. For me, I have a level of gratitude I can’t even explain.”

To share it with Paul means that much more.

“Chris has meant so much to my career, he’s meant so much to my life,” Williams said. “The darkest moment of my life Chris was right there and one of the highlights of my career, he’s right there.

“That’s where it is right now. I’m not really good at waxing eloquent about how I feel other than just telling you I just feel grateful for this opportunity and to be on this team and in this moment and have a chance to move forward.”