On a night where Russell Westbrook was supposed to make history, Devin Booker once again reminded Phoenix Suns fans that the future is bright.
At Talking Stick Resort Arena Friday night, Russell Westbrook had a chance to make history and the crowd knew it. Six assists would ensure he reached the coveted triple-double average for the entire season, while 10 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds were all that separated him from breaking Oscar Robertson's single-season record of 41 triple-doubles.
The pregame questions were all about Russ, his MVP case and his UCLA/Oklahoma City Thunder connection with Phoenix Suns head coach Earl Watson. It was supposed to be his night, and for a player who was averaging 41.7 points, 13.7 rebounds and 13.7 assists per game against the Suns on the season, the fans — Phoenix and OKC supporters alike — were antsy to see history made.
What they got instead was a reminder that 20-year-old Devin Booker is on his own path to making history in this league.
In a game where Westbrook came out overpassing to rack up early assists and played until the final minutes despite his team being down 20+ points, it was Booker who stole the MVP's thunder, finishing with 37 points on 13-of-29 shooting.
Considering he started the game 5-for-15 from the field, Booker's 21-point fourth quarter explosion was any eye-opening experience.
Devin Booker opened up the 4th quarter ON FIRE! He poured in 21 STRAIGHT for the @Suns! pic.twitter.com/wrFAHCqXti
— NBA (@NBA) April 8, 2017
It was a bizarre scene at Talking Stick. As Russ began to put numbers on the board in the second half, the crowd was openly rooting for him to reach triple-double No. 42.
MVP chants broke out. When he crossed the double-digit threshold for points and rebounds, every assist that moved him closer to No. 10 drew loud cheers from the fans.
Every missed basket after receiving a pass from Westbrook earned a unified "Awwww" from the crowd. When Steven Adams caught a pass from Russ in the lane in the fourth quarter and didn't go up with it over two Suns defenders, the entire arena shouted "SHOOT!" in unison.
With the Suns mired in a 13-game losing streak, it's not surprising they were peeved that Westbrook was stealing the show, even with the home squad up by 20 on a playoff team in one of their best games of the year. Devin Booker took it to heart a little bit more than the rest.
"For sure, I'm a competitor and I'm at my home arena and you're hearing chants for another guy," Booker said. "I totally respect Russell, he brings it each and every night and you can't discredit what he's doing. I'm sure he's gonna pass Oscar for the most triple-doubles, I just didn't want it to be here. So I took that personal. Like I said, I'm a competitor. If someone was chasing a record at home in OKC, he'd feel the same way."
Of Phoenix's 25 fourth quarter points, Booker accounted for the first 21 of them, singlehandedly denying OKC every opportunity to crawl back into the game. The fans were still loudly rooting for Westbrook to get those final two assists, but Booker used it as fuel for his competitive fire.
On a three-point play that put the Suns up by 19 midway through the fourth, Booker's momentum carried him into the front row. Caught up in the moment of a potential dagger play, the 20-year-old phenom shouted to the front row, "This is MY f**king house!"
Later in the fourth, when fans started booing the Suns for winding down the clock on a late possession, Booker hit a ridiculous step-back three, turned to the crowd and once again reminded the good people that this was his f**king house.
"It's funny, he actually did the same thing against Kobe [Bryant]," Watson recalled. "We played against Kobe the last game here, and Kobe started to come back in the fourth quarter. He made a big push, Devin caught a cramp, and then I was like, 'You need to come out.' He looked at me and said, 'What?' He says, 'This is my house.' And I was like, 'All right, whatever.' And then he just took over the fourth quarter."
Now, the Suns' win Friday night moved them to 14-26 at home on the season, so to be fair, it's usually been the other team's house. But on a night where a stone-cold killer was in town, it was the 20-year-old Booker who played the role of assassin.
Each time the Thunder made any sort of run, Booker responded with three-point plays on impossible running floaters and backbreaking swishes from deep. He was gesturing to the crowd, leaving his follow-through up after makes and turning an already entertaining scene into something spectacular.
This was no isolated incident, however. Booker has scored the fifth most points before turning 21 in NBA history, on a list that includes LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony and Kobe Bryant. This season alone, he's poured in a then career-high 39 points in a win over the Spurs, knocked down game-winners over the Kings and Mavericks and now has the most 20-point quarters in the NBA.
.@DevinBook now has six 20-point quarters this season, moving past Westbrook and Curry for most in the @NBA this season
— Phoenix Suns Stats (@SunsBballComm) April 8, 2017
Oh yeah, and just a few weeks ago he became the sixth player in league history to score 70 points.
His efficiency has waned at times due to all the defensive attention he receives at such a young age, but when Eric Bledsoe was healthy and Booker overcame an early toe injury, the results were undeniable.
His defense still needs work, and his on-court demeanor and postgame comments about Troy Daniels have already drawn criticism, but that swagger and confidence bordering on arrogance is almost Kobe-esque. Much like his former mentor, Booker is going to be adored by his fans and hated by his opponents, and the Suns know it could be something special.
"We have a young superstar in the making," Watson said. "We all see him do amazing things. It's great for a lot of attention to be on Russ and to see Devin have the game he had. The rest of the world can start to see what he's truly about."
Russ still wound up making history, with his sixth assist ensuring he will be the second player in NBA history to ever average a triple-double for an entire season. The Suns' 21-point victory felt like a footnote considering they have the second-worst record in the association.
Booker himself admitted that it's on the Suns to win over crowd support, and that their play in 2016-17 hasn't exactly done that. But as Phoenix tries to bring back the home fans with a budding youth movement, having a player with a killer competitor edge a la Kobe Bryant or Russell Westbrook — at age 20, no less — is one hell of a foundation to build on.
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