This is why nobody wants to face the Suns in the first round, they have three players who can take over and win a team a game on any night.
Monday night it was Devin Booker.
Booker scored 37 in the first half and finished the night with 52 — including eight made 3s, a career-high — in a Suns win over the Pelicans that brings Phoenix within striking distance of a top-six seed in the West and avoiding the play-in.
Devin Booker WENT OFF for 52 PTS (37 in the 1H) as he led the Suns to a W in New Orleans!
— NBA (@NBA) April 2, 2024
🔥 52 PTS, 9 AST
🔥 19/28 FGM
🔥 8 3PM (career-high) pic.twitter.com/I6NXF3J9Y6
Booker said being close to where he grew up in Mississippi helped motivate him on the night.
"The crib is close. I have a lot of family in attendance. I grew up coming here."
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) April 2, 2024
Devin Booker after 52-point blast in Suns win over Pelicans in New Orleans, hitting career-high 8 3s.
On shaking slump from 3: "Usually when it counts, it's time to make them." #Pelicans #Suns pic.twitter.com/hDkrJ4FKAQ
Pelicans coach Willie Green said his team’s defense was part of the issue.
Willie Green on Devin Booker's 52-point performance:
— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) April 2, 2024
"Quite frankly, we were soft guarding him. We had a soft mentality when it came to being physical on him."
Phoenix, at 44-31 on the season, now sits one game back of New Orleans for the No. 6 seed, but with the win the Suns now have the tiebreaker between the teams. It was one of the Suns’ better defensive performances of late, a dramatic change from the effort a few nights before against Oklahoma City.
The two teams play again on Sunday in Phoenix.
Kevin Durant scored 20 while Jusuf Nurkic had 19 points and 19 rebounds for the Suns in the win. Zion Williamson led the Pelicans with 30 points.
