For whatever reason, Devin Booker loves playing against the New Orleans Pelicans (25-17), and he proved that right away tonight with 25 first quarter points.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The Suns (22-18) built off Booker’s momentum to build a 41-28 lead after the first quarter and eventually a huge 69-52 halftime lead. Booker finished the half with 32 points, four assists and three rebounds.
A day after being ranked ninth in All-Star fan voting among the Western Conference backcourt and receiving loud boos in his pregame introduction, Booker seemed to take this personally.
Coming off of only scoring 16 points on 5-of-14 shooting in the Suns’ 22-point fourth quarter comeback win over the Kings Tuesday, Booker took it upon himself to carry over the momentum. Overall, he shot 9-of-11 from the floor and 3-of-3 from deep in the first quarter. This was Booker’s fifth time scoring 25 or more in a single quarter, the second most of any player since 1997-98. His career high for a quarter is 28 points.
All of this comes after Booker scoring 58 in the last meeting between these teams on Dec. 17, 2022.
After notching his 5th-career 25-point quarter tonight, Devin Booker only trails Stephen Curry (8) in such quarters in NBA history (since 1997-98 when quarter splits were tracked).
Steph Curry – 8
Devin Booker – 5
Kobe Bryant / Damian Lillard – 4
Klay Thompson / Joel Embiid – 3 pic.twitter.com/tJeqmSE2ZV— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) January 20, 2024
Booker’s shots were not easy at all, and the Suns just let him cook offensively, while they played great defense as a team early. New Orleans shot 3-of-20 (15%) from deep in the half.
Book CANNOT be stopped so far tonight… https://t.co/Z2TG54c3Co pic.twitter.com/X5nI36CfKA
— NBA (@NBA) January 20, 2024
Bradley Beal also had a big first half with 13 points, four rebounds and three assists.
PHX wins 2Q 28-24
Devin Booker leads the way with 32 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds. Bradley Beal 13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists. Kevin Durant 12 points, 4 rebounds.
Jonas Valanciunas with 16 for New Orleans
— Burn City Suns Talk 🎙️ (@BurnCitySuns) January 20, 2024
The Suns and Booker will look to continue this strong play in the second half, as they search for their fourth straight win.
The battle of hot streaks and Big 3s: Suns at Pelicans game preview and prediction
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
