Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker gestures after he scored a basket, as fans cheer him at TD Garden in the fourth quarter of the Suns’ NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Friday, March 24, 2017, in Boston. Booker scored 70 points, but the Celtics wonp 130-120. Booker is just the sixth player in NBA history to score 70 or more points in a game. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
WASHINGTON—Phoenix guard Devin Booker produced a game for the ages Friday (Saturday, Manila), but his scintillating 70 point-haul wasn’t enough as the Suns fell 130-120 to the Celtics in Boston.
Booker, 20, became just the sixth player in NBA history to score 70 or more points in a game and the youngest to do so.
He connected on 21 of his 40 shot attempts, made four of 11 three-pointers and 24 of 26 free throws.
For good measure he pulled down eight rebounds and handed out six assists.
Booker scored 51 points in the second half, including 28 in the final quarter.
His performance topped the 60-point effort in December by Golden State’s Klay Thompson for the highest scoring game of the season.
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It was also the most points ever scored by a player against the Celtics. His free throw with 45.2 seconds left broke Elgin Baylor’s record of 64 points against Boston, set in 1959.
“If you play basketball you’ve been in that zone,” Booker told NBA TV. “Going against a really good Boston team with a really good defense I knew I was going to have to lock in tonight and once I got it going my teammates kept finding me, kept setting screens for me.
“Once I got past 50, then they were just going to me every possession.”
The Suns used their fouls and timeouts in the fourth quarter to help Booker run up his total. He missed two shots in the final seconds, one a three-pointer.
Despite Booker’s exploits, Boston never trailed, leading by as many as 26 in the first half.
Isaiah Thomas scored 34 points and added seven assists for the Celtics, who remained one game behind the Eastern Conference leading Cleveland Cavaliers and two and a half games ahead of the third-placed Washington Wizards.