NBA: Devin Booker puts up 25 as Suns topple Thunder
Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns drives past Luguentz Dort #5 of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half at Footprint Center on February 24, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona. Chris Coduto/Getty Images/AFP
Devin Booker recorded 25 points, eight assists and six rebounds to help the Phoenix Suns post a 124-115 victory over the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night.
Chris Paul scored 16 points and Josh Okogie added 15 as Phoenix won for the 12th time in 16 games. Deandre Ayton registered 14 points and 11 rebounds for his 30th double-double of the season, Cameron Payne also scored 14 points.
Isaiah Joe scored 28 points on 11-of-17 shooting, including 6-of-12 success from 3-point range, for Oklahoma City, which lost for the second straight night. Rookie Jalen Williams added 22 points for the Thunder.
Luguentz Dort amassed 17 points and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma City. Tre Mann had 11 points, and Jaylin Williams contributed 10.
Oklahoma City All-Star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was scratched before tipoff due to left hip and right ankle injuries. Gilgeous-Alexander entered Friday as the league’s fifth-leading scorer at 31 points per game.
Booker buried his 1,052nd career 3-pointer late in the contest to pass legendary Steve Nash (1,051) as the Suns’ all-time leader.
Devin Booker has the most 3s in @Suns franchise history! 👏 pic.twitter.com/npC0Jptdpe
— NBA (@NBA) February 25, 2023
Kevin Durant (knee) watched from the Phoenix bench, but he could make his Suns debut on Sunday at Milwaukee or on Wednesday at Charlotte.
Ish Wainwright added 10 points for Phoenix, which connected on 46.7 percent of its field-goal attempt and 14 of 38 (36.8 percent) from 3-point range. Payne made three 3-pointers after missing the previous 21 games due to a foot injury.
The Thunder made 43.6 percent of their shots and were 15 of 37 (40.5 percent) from behind the arc.
Okogie scored 15 first-half points as the Suns led 65-60 at the break. Joe scored 21 on 8-of-11 shooting in the half for Oklahoma City.
Jaylin Williams buried back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Thunder a 78-74 lead with eight minutes left in the third quarter. The Suns rattled off the next 11 points with Ayton scoring the final five for an 85-78 lead with 4:34 left in the quarter.
Terrence Ross nailed a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give Phoenix a 94-87 lead entering the final stanza.
The Suns’ lead was 106-92 with 9:33 remaining in the game after Payne buried a 3-pointer and followed with a basket.
The Thunder scored six straight points later in the quarter to move within six before Booker scored on a putback and added the milestone 3-pointer to make it 121-110 with 2:08 left.
