Long before the arrival of Chris Paul, the Phoenix Suns were actually one of the worst teams in the league. A lottery team that would consistently finish at the bottom of the conference standings.
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The Arizona-based franchise suffered the lowest of the lows during the 2010s, missing out on the playoffs in all 10 seasons. Further, the organization finished 15th in the conference 4 times.
However, during such distressing times, the team seldom had any moment of glory. The Devin Booker 70 Point Game from back in 2017 was one of them.
Devin Booker 70 Point Game
During the 2016-17 season, the ailing Suns went on a shocking 13-game losing streak toward the end of the season. However, on March 24th 2017, Booker would go on to stun the world.
Playing against the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden, Isaiah Thomas and co. looked dominant right from tip-off. The Cs grabbed an early lead and never looked back, winning the contest 130-120. However, it was Booker who blew up all over social media… for dropping 70 points.
Yes, the 20-year-old would go on to play 44:58 minutes of the clash, and record 70 points while annihilating Boston’s defense. The 6-foot-5 combo guard knocked down 21 out of his 40 shot attempts from the field, connected 4 out of 11 3-point attempts, and hit 24/26 (92.3%) of his free throws.
Here, have a look at Booker’s highlights from the memorable day.
Facts behind Booker’s 70-point night
At the time, Booker became only the 6th player ever to record a 70-point game. The youngster had joined the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant, David Thompson, Elgin Baylor, and David Robinson.
Further, D-Book’s 51 second-half points were the most in one half since Kobe Bryant’s 55-point second-half vs the Raptors in 2006.
Apart from surpassing Michael Jordan as the highest number of points scored by a guard, the former Kentucky Wildcat had even set a new feat of being the youngest ever to record a 70-point game and a 60-point game.
A lot more records were broken apart from the few mentioned.
Yes, it has been a while since Booker has emulated this type of performance. However, with the NBA more fast-paced than ever and the 3-time All-Star adding more tools to his offensive arsenal, there is no doubt that we could witness the Suns’ leader break the internet anytime in the future.
