Daily Times

Devin Booker scored 52 points, the fifth-highest scoring game of his career, to power the Phoenix Suns to a 124-111 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night, bringing them within a game of the Pelicans for the No. 6 playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Rebounding from a 128-103 loss to Oklahoma City on Friday night, the Suns (44-31) inched closer to New Orleans (45-30). The teams play again in Phoenix on Sunday.

Booker became the first NBA player since Wilt Chamberlain to score at least 50 points in three consecutive games against the same opponent.

In addition to his 52-point outburst in Phoenix´s 123-109 victory over New Orleans in the Smoothie King Center on Jan. 19, Booker scored 58 points against New Orleans in a 118-114 home win over the Pelicans on Dec. 12, 2022.

“It means a whole lot,” said Booker, a native of Moss Point, Mississippi, located 110 miles from New Orleans, who had 40 relatives and friends in the stands. “My family was in attendance for two of them. Any time you get named for something Wilt did – it´s happened very few times in my career – you know you did something special.”

Suns coach Frank Vogel said he was in awe watching Booker´s second 52-point game against the Pelicans this year.

“There´s something about playing in this building against this opponent,” Vogel said. “(He) just really has a comfort zone here. To go for 50 three straight times against a single opponent … just shows what kind of special player he is. Three times in a row is just incredible.”

Kevin Durant scored 20 points and Jusuf Nurkic added 19 points and 19 rebounds for the Suns, who led by as many as 25 points in the third quarter.

Durant said it was obvious Booker had it going in the first quarter, and the Suns made a concerted effort to get him the ball and screen harder to create more open space. “It was like deja vu,” Durant said. “As it was happening, I couldn´t believe he was doing it again.”

Pelicans coach Willie Green said there was no excuse for allowing Booker to go off, especially since they knew his history of burying the Pels.

“He hit some shots that we gave him, and he also hit some tough shots,” Green said. “We have to do better. I mean, there´s no excuse to get 50, put on you twice (in a season). Quite frankly, we were soft guarding him. We just had a soft mentality when it came to being physical with him, and he´s a great player, and you can´t allow him to be comfortable.”

Booker´s first 24 points came on just nine shots from the field in the first quarter – he was 8-of-9 from behind the arc.

“He came out with a lot of pace and energy,” Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III said of Booker. “He hit some tough shots, but I think we contributed to it a little as well.”

In Phoenix´s 123-109 road victory over New Orleans on Jan. 19, Booker scored 25 points in the first quarter. His 24-point outburst in the first quarter Monday night gave him 76 points in his previous five quarters against the Pelicans.

The Suns built a wall around Zion Williamson on defense, and the Pelicans´ leading scorer didn´t take his first shot until late in the first quarter. Williamson finished with 30 points and five assists. Trey Murphy III added 21 points for New Orleans.

Booker has eight 50-plus scoring games in his career.