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Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker shouts in celebration in the last seconds during the second half of Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals against the Los Angeles Clippers, Sunday, June 20, 2021, in Phoenix. The Suns defeated the Clippers 120-114. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Phoenix – How do you know what a star is?
The only thing that comes to mind is having a player in favor of the scheme, which makes the defensive game plan more choice about what to limit rather than what to deny.
Another is appearing on the big stage, where he performs best when the stakes are highest.
But most of all, the star’s play is the embodiment of their team’s identity, and is one of the strongest signs of leadership.
Check all three boxes of the Phoenix Suns Devin Booker Shooting Ranger.
For a game that lost two Los Angeles Clippers winger Kowhi Leonard (knee) and Suns guard Chris Paul (HSP), Booker told everyone there was a third gift and it counted.
Booker scored 40 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists, and shot 15 of 29 in the Suns’ 120-114 win over the Clippers in Game One of the Western Conference Finals. His 40-point double was the third-ever in the history of the NBA Conference Finals, and the first treble of any kind in Booker’s career.
“I loved the way Devin did,” said Suns coach Monty Williams. “He didn’t get involved in the game, he just did it by what we do.”
With the Clippers starting small and using heavy defense, the Suns were able to beat Los Angeles by playing their .5 style, making quick decisions with the ball and keeping the player moving.
Booker led the charge. Besides those 11 passes, he had four passes in hockey and could have had a handful more if not for Phoenix’s miss.
Watch every Clippers game in the first two rounds, and note how the Los Angeles defended the Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic and the Utah Jazz Donovan Mitchell. Booker and his team have given a good indication of how to attack them.
“With the small ball lineup, they’re going to switch a lot of moves, they’re going to run and hit and double,” Booker said. “It’s kind of hard to time it because they do it randomly, but I trust my teammates. It’s easy to get off the ball and make someone else play.”
As expected with these two teams, Williams called it a “wrestling match” of sorts in the first half, with the Suns leading by three after that.
This is where Williams loved seeing the game open up more for his team, especially Booker.
“It was just him. He was making the right passes tonight,” Williams said of Booker. “When he goes down, he knows where the readings are. He can either reach into the basket or try to find the DA in the pocket.”
Booker scored in the second half or assisted 49 of 63 points, and hockey scored six of those points he was not involved in.
“It’s just reading the game, from start to finish,” Booker said. “It’s playoffs, teams will make adjustments, teams will throw different defenses at you. Getting ready with our team and our coaching staff, I feel we are ready for whatever kind of defense we see.”
The Clippers seemed for a moment to have a fourth star in Paul George. He scored 32 points in the third quarter, and along with 16 of 33 from three points as a team, that was keeping Los Angeles in the game.
At 3:45 at the end of the third quarter, the Clippers had the biggest lead of the game, by six points.
After the Suns timeout, this is where Booker really started. In the final 3:09 of the period, Booker scored 12 points and provided a hockey assist in 3 for Tori Craig, an increase that tied the game through three quarters.
From there, he ran out of power on one side and the other didn’t.
George scored just two points in the fourth quarter and the Clippers shot 4 of 14 from there, all while Booker kept screaming.
Booker scored 11 points, six rebounds and five assists in just the fourth quarter. After Dunk Cam Johnson with 8:08 left, Booker scored or assisted in the Suns’ last 15 points.
And when the Suns took a four-point lead with nine seconds left, and Clippers’ Nick Buttom missed a three-pointer, guess who grabbed the rebound. Yes, it was a booker.
As the Suns itself showed when they were turning into defense and struggling to finish some possessions, the Clippers were poor at maneuvers and rushed off a dribbling breakout.
Phoenix had 31 assists and only seven turnovers.
Cam Payne, who started in place of Paul, started the game 1 of 5 off the field and kind of looked before settling down to 11 points and nine assists. He seemed to find his charm and vision of the court in the second quarter, something he attributed to his ability to sit on the bench and assess the game after his first turn, as he normally did at the start of his reserve role.
Payne did a great job finding Deandre Ayton, who was pretty good at preparing passes around the basket and finishing off with a power dive. Ayton scored 20 points and nine rebounds with a shot out of 14.
Williams yelled at Michal Bridges for being firm in making quick decisions while also being patient. The Suns’ 0.5 success wouldn’t be possible without Bridges (14 points), Jae Crowder (13 points) and Cam Johnson (12 points) making correct play 99 times out of 100 when they have the space to get things done.
As the Lupe Fiasco song says, “If you’re what you say you are, a star, don’t be afraid, the camera is here.”
Booker has always had the confidence to be a superstar, even long before he became a superstar early in his career.
This part was never missing. He was waiting if we were going to see him become one.
At First Postseason Poker, we are.
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