Devin Booker was over the moon to share his historic NBA moment with numerous family and friends after scoring 52 points for the Phoenix Suns in Monday's victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. (More Sports News)
Suns star Booker recorded his fifth-highest scoring game of his career after posting 50+ against the Pelicans, bringing Phoenix within a game of No.6 New Orleans in the Western Conference.
With that monumental haul, Booker became the first NBA player since Wilt Chamberlain to score 50 points in three straight games against a single opponent.
"It means a whole lot," said Booker, who registered 52 against the Pelicans in January and 58 in December 2022.
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"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."
Phoenix coach Frank Vogel lauded Booker's showing, having watched him record 52 points against New Orleans for the second time 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, it just shows what kind of special player he is. Three times in a row is just incredible."
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Kevin Durant added another 20 points, along with 19 for Jusuf Nurkic, as the Suns ran rampant in a 124-111 victory.
"It was like deja vu," Durant said of teammate Booker's exploits. "As it was happening, I couldn't believe he was doing it again."
Having already suffered from Booker's dominance previously, Pelicans coach Willie Green credited the Suns man but left no excuses for his team.
"He hit some shots that we gave him, and he also hit some tough shots," Green said. "We have to do better.
"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."
