[ad_1]
‘The win feels better’: Devin Booker posts first career triple-double in Game 1 win
Suns’ Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton, Monty Williams, Cameron Payne and Jae Crowder discuss Booker’s 40-point triple-double in Sunday’s Game 1 victory.
Duane Rankin, Arizona Republic
Devin Booker has the NBA on fire right now with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith leading the blazing trail of fever for the two-time All-Star.
A day after Booker’s 40-point triple-double in leading the second-seeded Phoenix Suns to an 120-114 win Sunday in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against the fourth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers, Smith called Booker ‘the next Kobe Bryant” on Monday’s First Take.
“I’m saying it on national television,” Smith said. “Devin Booker is the next Kobe Bryant. It is official.”
Smith is clearly a prisoner of the moment as Booker has yet to even play in an NBA finals, let alone win won as Bryant won five championships, but he’s arguably having the best postseason of anyone in the playoffs this year.
Scoring 29 points in the second half Sunday, Booker delivered a career-high 13 rebounds and 11 assists as the Suns took Game 1 without All-Star point guard Chris Paul, who missed the game under the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
“It’s very special, but the win feels better,” Booker said about the triple-double.
It’s been well documented the impact Bryant has had on Booker’s life.
From his talks with the five-time NBA champion and Hall of Famer to Bryant signing ‘Be Legendary’ on shoes to inspire the then-rookie in 2016, Booker grew up admiring Bryant.
The loss of Bryant to a helicopter crash in January 2020 greatly shook Booker, who later attended the memorial at STAPLES Center.
Booker has constantly said how he thinks about Bryant daily, noting he felt his presence when scoring a career playoff-high 47 in the Suns closeout Game 6 victory over the Lakers in Los Angeles.
“I know he was here tonight,” Booker said after Game 6 at STAPLES Center. “I know he’s in the building. I know he’s proud.”
‘Locked in’: Relive Devin Booker’s 47-point night in leading Phoenix Suns past L.A. Lakers
Devin Booker goes for 47 points in leading Phoenix Suns past defending NBA champion L.A. Lakers to end the series in six games.
Duane Rankin, Arizona Republic
Then after Sunday’s Game 1 win, Booker was asked how did Bryant and Paul help him perform the way he did in his first conference finals game.
Booker first said they wanted to win the game for Paul. Then he spoke about Bryant’s “Mamba mentality” in relation to his performance.
“Just the approach of doing whatever it takes at all costs to get a win,” Booker said. “It might not be 40 points next game. It might be more assists or making plays for my teammates, the hockey assists. Every time down, valuing every possession.”
Less than 24 hours later, Smith, with Hall of Famer, five-time NBA champion and Lakers legend Magic Johnson nodding in approval in the studio, called Booker “the next Kobe Bryant.”
In his first career postseason run, Booker is averaging 29 points on 49.1% shooting in 11 playoff games. He’s scored a total 102 points in his last three playoff games.
The Suns have won a franchise record eight consecutive playoff games heading into Tuesday’s Game 2 in Phoenix.
“He’s a beast and we understand that,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said after Game 1. “We’ll go look at the tape and look at the film and just kind of go from there, but he did a good job of attacking. We tried to double team, we tried to blitz, we tried to fire. He took advantage of a lot of it.”
Phoenix’s longest winning streak during the regular season was seven.
Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.
Support local journalism. Start your online subscription.
Published
Updated
[ad_2]
Source link