Retour
PHOENIX — Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker continues to set franchise records.
The Suns' all-time leading scorer has a laundry list of accolades that will surely see him inducted in the team's Ring of Honor upon first opportunity, and Saturday night's win over the Golden State Warriors added another tally for Booker.
Booker's 43 points was the most ever for a Suns' home opener, and it was much needed as the Suns narrowly avoided an eye-opening upset from the massively undermanned Warriors on Saturday.
It wasn't always easy sledding, though Phoenix figured out a way to get the job done — mostly thanks to Booker, who rebounded nicely from a rough outing in Portland just days ago.
"Yeah, you just feel it building. I really felt in the third quarter — halftime, first half, it was pretty clunky. Could never really catch a rhythm. These games are tough," said Suns head coach Jordan Ott on Booker's performance.
"You expect it to go a certain way, and then realize how hard they play. They still continue to play their style. And at halftime, we needed someone to dig us out of kind of the mud. That's what he did in the third quarter, and you could just feel it rising as it as the quarter progressed, and yeah, the third quarter was fantastic, and then he brought us home."
The Warriors led Phoenix after the opening frame and were only down by three at halftime. Booker also poured in seven rebounds and seven assists.
"We were just getting stops and playing fast. I think the group with Goodie [Jordan Goodwin] and Collin [Gillespie], we were able to secure rebounds and get out in transition," Booker said after he scored 12 points in a row during the third quarter to give Phoenix a small amount of breathing room.
The Suns had numerous franchise legends in the house for their home opener, as names such as Charles Barkley, Shawn Marion and others were on site to watch Booker erupt at Mortgage Matchup Center.
"It's nice the have the alumni in here. It says a lot about our franchise when guys come back and show up. Phoenix is always a destination that everybody I run into says it's their favorite city they've played in, and I completely understand that," said Booker.
"Those are all guys that I have relationships with and I always do my part to pay homage to them. I know the relationships between the older generations and new generation isn't always the best so I go out of my way to pay my respects to those guys that laid the groundwork for us – especially in this city too that made it a basketball town. They're the reason the fans are here and cheer as loud as they do."