Chris Paul is one of the best point guards of his generation. But he can heat up and be a deadly shot from long distance, like he was in Sunday’s 120-97 victory over the Lakers.

Paul scored 23 points and made 8 of 10 shots from the field. Even more impressive, he made all four of his 3-point attempts.

Coach Doc Rivers was not surprised.

“He can do that, he just chooses not to do that,” Rivers said. “So when you watch him shoot in practice with J.J. (Redick) and those guys, he’s right there with them. He gets in the game and he usually is so busy being a point guard, and he forgets that he’s a shooter. And a lot of his shots are second-thought shots, which are very difficult to make. I thought he had a stretch in the third (quarter) where he was looking for a shot, and I enjoy when he plays that way.”

Paul shoots a respectable 36.2 percent (71 of 196) from 3-point range.