Devin Booker felt he had many reasons to go for a big scoring night in the game vs Denver. First, he played alongside Chris Paul for the first time in many weeks after the veteran guard missed the last 15 games of his team.
Second, he wanted to make a statement to the rest of the NBA for not having him in the MVP conversation, and third, he felt disrespected by the Nuggets during the Suns’ introduction.
When Booker’s name was announced, Clippers guard Amir Coffey’s face was there instead of his, with Booker’s first and last name displayed on Coffey’s picture.
“That was disrespectful,” Booker said, via USA Today Sports.
The Suns have the Nuggets’ number in the last few games between the franchise, as Phoenix swept Denver in last year’s playoffs.
“It’s all fun and games, but we got the last laugh and every other laugh for the last few games against them. Good team they got over there to put that up there because it got me going for sure,” Booker said in the aftermath of Phoenix’s 140-130 win.
Booker has been amazing in the second part of the season, especially after Chris Paul went down with injury. Booker is averaging 26.3 points through 63 games shooting 46 percent from the field and 37 percent from deep.
He also adds 5.1 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game, while he elevated his defensive play this season. During March, the Suns’ superstar went off averaging 30.0 points, 7.0 assists and 4.4 rebounds through nine games.
During that stint, the Suns dominated their opponents, scoring 130.1 per 100 possessions and having a net-rating of plus-17.8.
“The fact that he’s not in the MVP conversation is just somewhat silly,” Monty Williams told reporters after the win vs the Nuggets.
With Booker at his best and Chris Paul alongside him, the Suns may have a clear path to return to the NBA Finals and why not win the franchise’s first championship.
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