Devin Booker scored 52 points in the Phoenix Suns’ 124-111 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday.
The victory brings Phoenix to within one game of the Pelicans in sixth place in the Western Conference, the final automatic playoff slot, as both clubs attempt to avoid the Play-In Tournament.
Booker shot 67.9% from the field, including 8-of-16 from three. He also had nine assists. All five Suns starters scored in double digits, including center Jusuf Nurkić with 19 points and 19 rebounds and Kevin Durant with 20 points and seven rebounds.
Remarkably, Booker scored 50 or more points against the Pelicans for the third time in a row, becoming the first player since Wilt Chamberlain to do it.
“Anytime you get named with Wilt, and it’s happened a few times in my career, but you know you did something special,” Booker was quoted as saying.
“I just feel like I’m playing the same way,” Booker said when asked about his recent victory over New Orleans. “I mean, the crib is nearby. I have a large number of family members in attendance. I grew up visiting here. It’s the first NBA venue I’ve been to, so there’s some history here.”
The Suns led by 27 points in the third quarter, but the Pelicans closed the distance to just seven in the fourth, setting up a tense finale.
Zion Williamson led New Orleans with 30 points and five assists, while Trey Murphy III contributed 21 points, six rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
However, it was not enough to prevent Booker and the Suns from securing a critical victory in New Orleans.
Durant said watching Booker, who previously scored 52 points against the Pelicans in January, as “like déjà vu.”
“You look up, he’s got 20 points in the first quarter,” he remarked, according to ESPN. “What I liked best about it was that everything was in sync with the game from the beginning. Pin downs, catch-and-shoots, cutbacks to the rim, layups, and pull-ups.
“That’s the sign of an otherworldly scorer when you can do it in the flow of the offense like that.”
