Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan were never considered great defenders, and tonight we had further proof of that… On the other hand, Alex Caruso and Ayo Dosunmu are specialists, but they couldn’t do anything either faced with an exceptional Devin Booker. The back of the Suns plants 51 points in 31 minutes on 20 of 25 on shots!!!
This is the 4th performance at 50 points and more this season, and Booker joins the very closed club from players who have planted 50 points and more in 31 minutes or less. We find there Klay Thompson, CJ McCollum, Damian Lillard but also Joel Embiid, James Harden and the idol of Booker, the late Kobe Bryant.
“When a player like that finds his rhythm, it’s already too late”
“I felt the circle was twice as wide. As soon as I got up, it came in” says Booker. From his performance, we will especially remember this crazy 3rd quarter: 26 points at 10 out of 11 on shots. All with such ease. Everything seemed fluid tonight, and we must remember that he was coming out of a game with 44 points!
“When a player like that finds his rhythm, it’s already too late. It unfolds, again and again” notes LaVine, overwhelmed on each screen and on each trip.
The game folded, Booker went to sit, and he did not play the last quarter. We will never know how far he could have gone, but his 51 points are a record for the hall of the Suns, inaugurated in 1992 and above all, the Suns won! In career, Booker had already reached the 50-point mark three times, but each time, Phoenix had lost. Booker has therefore overcome the curse.
“There is no level where he cannot score…” concludes Monty Williams. “He can use both hands, he can score with one hand to the face, and he wants to take difficult shots.”
All with crazy skill: 20 out of 25 on shots, including 6 out of 7 from 3-pointers!
| Devin Booker | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2015-16 | PHX | 76 | 28 | 42.3 | 34.3 | 84.0 | 0.4 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 0.6 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 13.8 |
| 2016-17 | PHX | 78 | 35 | 42.3 | 36.3 | 83.2 | 0.6 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 3.1 | 0.3 | 22.1 |
| 2017-18 | PHX | 54 | 35 | 43.2 | 38.3 | 87.8 | 0.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 3.6 | 0.3 | 24.9 |
| 2018-19 | PHX | 64 | 35 | 46.7 | 32.6 | 86.6 | 0.6 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 6.8 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 4.1 | 0.2 | 26.6 |
| 2019-20 | PHX | 70 | 36 | 48.9 | 35.4 | 91.9 | 0.4 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 6.5 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 3.8 | 0.3 | 26.6 |
| 2020-21 | PHX | 67 | 34 | 48.4 | 34.0 | 86.7 | 0.5 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 3.1 | 0.2 | 25.6 |
| 2021-22 | PHX | 68 | 35 | 46.6 | 38.3 | 86.8 | 0.7 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 2.7 | 1.1 | 2.4 | 0.4 | 26.8 |
| 2022-23 | PHX | 20 | 37 | 47.0 | 35.2 | 88.0 | 1.0 | 4.4 | 5.4 | 5.8 | 2.6 | 1.2 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 27.9 |
| Total | four hundred ninety seven | 34 | 45.7 | 35.7 | 87.0 | 0.5 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 2.9 | 0.9 | 3.1 | 0.3 | 23.7 | |
