Chris Paul Hopes Basketball Helps People 'Ease Their Minds' After HS Shooting

Chris Paul offered a heartfelt message to the city of Houston and those affected by the Santa Fe High School shooting as the Rockets begin preparations for Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.

"The city of Houston, we gonna need you," Paul told TNT's Kristen Ledlow following the Rockets' 95-92 Game 4 win over the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena on Tuesday night. "We gonna need you Game 5. You know, the city's been through a tough time with the things in Santa Fe, but man, I don't know. Hopefully basketball can be a way that people can come and ease their minds, if only for a second. So Houston, we coming home."

CP3 Has a Message for Houston ❤️

Paul's comments came four days after suspected gunman Dimitrios Pagourtzis shot and killed 10 people at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas.

"It's scary that that's becoming the norm here," Paul told reporters hours after the news broke. "We got to do something about it, because I can't imagine something like that taking place with my kids." 

Toyota Center will host Game 5 Thursday night at 9 p.m. ET as the Rockets eye a 3-2 series lead.