Nicolas Batum had a chance to give the Clippers the lead, but missed a 3 with 1:18 left. Keep playing all the way until the whistle blows." "I think it's a good lesson for us moving forward," Booker said. The Suns appeared to be heading to a comfortable closeout win, especially after Booker’s explosive third, but the Clippers cut a 20-point Suns lead early in the fourth down to two twice within the last two minutes that had a sellout crowd of 17,071 at Footprint Center standing in near silence. This is what everything is for so when you get going like that, you just want to play."ĭenver won Game 5 over Minnesota, 112-109, as Anthony Edwards missed a 3 at the buzzer. Some of the shots he was making, but when you're in the playoffs, this is what you train for. "I was out at the end of the third and I was like, man, that's tough. "It damn sure looked like it," Suns point guard Chris Paul about Booker outscoring the Clippers in the third. Outscoring the Clippers by himself in the third, 25-24, Booker had a stretch in which he scored 14 of Phoenix’s 25 points in the final 4:34 of the quarter. The fourth-seeded Suns will begin their conference semifinals series Saturday at Denver against the Nuggets, the No. Start your online subscription.Kevin Durant on Devin Booker's 25-point 3rd quarter in #Suns Game 5 win over #ClipperNation to close out series. Follow him on Twitter at local journalism. Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at or contact him at 48. That’s not easy to do and it’s not common in the NBA.” I got to be thrown in the fire and even my vets, my teammates. As a young-un’, everybody doesn’t get that opportunity. “A lot of praise to those guys for trusting a young kid and letting him play through mistakes. “Truly grateful to be in that position at a young age,” said the now 25-year-old Booker, who thanked his Suns coaches - Hornacek, Watson, Jay Triano, Igor Kokoskov and Williams. He went from years and years of scoring, but losing, to reaching last season’s NBA Finals in his first playoff run. Now in his seventh NBA season, the two-time All-Star finds appreciation in the entire journey. Things changed when Hornacek was fired and replaced by assistant Earl Watson, who was his coach when Booker scored 70 at TD Garden in his second NBA season. I feel like it’s a real milestone that I hit.”īooker came into the league as the 13th overall pick in the 2015 draft out of Kentucky with an offensive skill set and mindset, but didn't play major minutes early and was finding his way in his first NBA season under Hornacek. “Honestly, this one means a lot,” Booker said as he needed just four points Wednesday to reach 10,000. The Suns' franchise talent put himself in elite company - the six players to reach the milestone before him are either in the Hall of Fame or will be first-ballot inductees: "Can't win them all without winning the first one," Booker said. He made some huge shots tonight and to be able make some big shots and hit that milestone, it’s just what he does.”īooker now returns to the place he scored a career-high 70 when the Suns (27-7) begin a three-game road trip New Year’s Eve against the Celtics (16-19), losers of their last three games. “Every shot he shoots, he thinks it’s going in and he’s still able to do it within the confines of the team. “The thing you love about Book is he’s a fierce competitor and he’s fearless,” said Suns lead assistant Kevin Young, Phoenix's acting head coach in place of Monty Williams (health and safety protocols). “If Hornacek had put me in a little bit more, I should be at about 12 (thousand points) right now,” said a smiling Booker.īooker reached the milestone on a 38-point night in Wednesday’s 115-97 win over Oklahoma City before a sellout crowd of 17,071 at Footprint Center. BOSTON - Devin Booker was just messing around with Jeff Hornacek.Īfter becoming the seventh-youngest NBA player to reach 10,000 career points, Booker joked he’d have many more buckets had Hornacek played him more in his first season in Phoenix.
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