Devin Booker Arrived When Suns Needed Him Most

Devin Booker helps the Phoenix Suns power through the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 2 and completely changes the course of this first-round series.

One of the main storylines for the Phoenix Suns’ 123-109 victory against the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 2 has to be the outstanding play of Devin Booker.

Booker dropped a game-high 38 points to go along with nine assists. The game was tied going into the second half as Phoenix seemed to be playing the same sluggish brand of basketball they put on display in their Game 1 loss.

That all changed in the second half when Booker took over, scoring 25 points in just 17 minutes. In the second half, Booker was the primary ball handler where he truly flourished. He was feeling his shot all night after going 14-22 on field goal attempts and really settled in as the game went on.

“It was obviously a point of emphasis for us to get a better start,” Booker said following the game. “You are still not promised that you are going to make all your shots. Just felt the game out, settled into it, seen what they were doing and went from there.”

Booker’s performance also gave the Suns new life and a spark of energy that we did not see in the first game of this series. Phoenix - down by as much as 13 at one point - faced a possibility of going back to Los Angeles down 0-2 in the series. 

“I was planning on taking him out the first two minutes of the fourth,” Monty Williams said. “Then he got going and I said one more play and one more play, then he kept hitting shots, so I let him go. When he is attacking like that and knocking down big shots from outside it keeps everybody off balanced.

“Book scores in a number of ways and when he is going like that, I think the team feeds off of his high-level play.”

Throughout the game, the Clippers double-teamed Kevin Durant, which only left Booker even more room to operate. The dynamic duo of Durant and Booker is finally starting to take shape. While Durant still ended the night with 25 points, he knew Booker had the hot-hand and deferred to him at many points throughout the win.

This series seemed to be going in a direction that would turn out ugly for Phoenix. Booker's play prevented the series from tipping massively in favor of Los Angeles.