This game was a blowout from the start, as we all expected, and the Celtics walked away with an easy 130-120 win. But the story was Devin Booker’s franchise record 70 points on 21-40 from the field and 24-26 from the line.
Just about the entire game was garbage time, but still an incredible performance from the 20 year old Booker, as he broke Tom Chambers’ 1990 60 point single game franchise record.
He also became only the fifth player in Suns history to score at least 50 in a game and scored the most points in a game by a player as young as him in NBA history. It was the most points scored by a player in an NBA game since Kobe Bryant’s 81 in 2006, and only the 11th 70 point game in NBA history, according to ESPN.
Isaiah Thomas led the way for Boston with 34 points, and IT wasn’t the only former Sun to haunt them as Gerald Green also went for 15 in 12 minutes. Yep, it was just that kind of night on the scoreboard. Actually, it’s been that kind of season. This game wasn’t as close as the final score indicated, and only Booker’s point explosion prevented it from being much more embarrassing.
That was to be expected, and do any of us really care? Booker went supernova, at age 20, and we all got to see it. 70 points in a single game is absurd for any player, let alone a 20 year old, second year pro.
As for the rest of the game, how did the Suns do in the questions I posed in the game preview? Not well!
- Will Tyler Ulis and Alan Williams continue posting double-doubles? No and no. Each struggled, and Williams had a couple of those moments where his lack of athleticism painfully showed, though he came close to a double-double with 9 points and 14 rebounds.
- Will Marquese Chriss continue his second half improvement? Not tonight. Chriss struggled through foul trouble and overall ineffectiveness, going scoreless in the first half on 0-7 shooting before finishing with a mere 3 points and 6 rebounds
- Will Derrick Jones, Jr. one day hit a 3 point shot? Maybe, but that day was not today. Jones continues to display great athleticism and defensive potential, but will need to add a 3 to be a viable NBA rotation wing.
- Is Jarell Eddie's name not actually Eddie Jarell? Steve Albert and EJ continue to call him Jarell Eddie, so let’s stick with that for now. He also got 0 minutes in the game tonight.
Next up for the Suns is Sunday morning in Charlotte, where they don’t figure to have much of a prayer for victory. Then this road trip wraps up in Atlanta on Tuesday.
But in case you were thinking there’s no reason to watch these games anymore, Devin Booker just provided 70.