Opposed to New Orleans, Devin Booker was obviously ready to put on a historic show for the fans. His start to the match was indeed unheard of in a quarter of a century! Unfortunately, an injury put an end to his heat stroke, precipitating the defeat of his family.
Winner in Game 1 with the Suns, Devin Booker was keen to make the break against the Pelicans. The perfect opportunity for the best team in the league in the regular season to put themselves in a very comfortable position, and the start of the meeting was also in the direction of the men of Arizona. Leading 61-56 at the break, they could particularly thank their star back who walked on water from the kick-off whistle, in scoring:
Devin Booker is the only player over the last 25 seasons with 30 points in a half without a free throw in a playoff game pic.twitter.com/uIPk4qt2PW
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 20, 2022
Devin Booker is the only player in the past 25 seasons with 30 points in a half without a free throw in a playoff game.
Crazy first half for Devin Booker
With seven threes, Book matched his own postseason record for threes in a half and recorded the 4th instance by a Suns player with 30+ points in a half. pic.twitter.com/BtuKVTx1yP
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) April 20, 2022
With seven three-pointers, Book tied his own post-season record from behind the arc in one half and recorded the 4th 30-plus-point performance in one half by a Suns player.
31 points at 12/18 to shoot including 7/10 from a distance: the leader of the Cactus was literally on another planet in these first 24 minutes, delivering carnage in the defense of the Bayou players. With the break to breathe, we could expect the former Kentucky to leave on the same basis after returning from the locker room, and game observers were logically hyped to the max. Kyle Kuzma bluntly compared the player to his mentor, Kobe Bryant :
Book rn.. get the hell out the way!!! Lol pic.twitter.com/AC4Yq5ZyLL
— kuz (@kylekuzma) April 20, 2022
Book right now… Get out of the way!!!! lol
Unfortunately for the fans as for Phoenix, D-Book did not continue their festival in the second half. Not because he no longer had the compass in his eye, but because he left his team after just seven minutes, hit in the hamstrings. A necessarily delicate injury, and NOLA took full advantage of it to reverse the course of the match, equalizing in the series (125-114). Let’s hope for coach Monty Williams that his best element can be dressed for Game 3.
What a pity that Devin Booker was injured, because we could have witnessed a real madness. The back of the Suns seemed touched by grace, and we know what it can do with him, who has already scored 70 points in one game!