Suns’ Booker drops 51 factors on Bulls in three quarters

Whereas Wednesday night time’s efficiency pales compared to Booker’s 70-point outing in 2017, it will nonetheless go down as one in all his greatest. 

Booker posted a ridiculous stat line, ending 20-of-25 from the sector, 6-of-7 from past the arc, and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.

Booker had solely 9 factors after the primary quarter and 25 on the halftime break earlier than going off within the third quarter. 

Within the third stanza, Booker scored greater than half of the Suns’ 42 factors within the quarter, tallying his last basket of the sport with an emphatic two-handed slam. 

With the Suns gaining a 106-81 benefit over the Bulls heading into the fourth quarter, Booker sat on the bench for the rest of the sport, or his recreation totals might’ve been a lot increased. 

According to ESPN Stats and Info, Booker is just the second participant during the last 25 years with 50 or extra factors off 80% capturing by means of three quarters in a recreation, becoming a member of Philadelphia 76ers’ level guard James Harden, who completed the feat with as a Houston Rocket in 2017. 

Extra impressively, per OptaStats, Booker is the primary participant in NBA historical past to attain 50-plus factors in a recreation whereas capturing a minimum of 80% from the sector, 3-point, and free-throw traces. 

“You hate to say traditional E book, since you virtually take it as a right,” head coach Monty Williams told reporters. “It actually was a particular night time, and to do it in half-hour, it is simply a kind of moments that you simply simply sit and watch a man get scorching.”