Devin Booker scores 70 Points

[Andrew]

Too big of a deal not to have its own thread: Boxscore

70 points on 21-40 shooting, 4-11 from three, 24-26 from the foul line. Eight rebounds and six assists for good measure, too. Granted, the Celtics won, and the Suns were fouling with the game already lost in order to extend it and get Booker more scoring opportunities, but still...that's huge.

[CarolusXCI]

I just got home, was checking my twitter and a random dude tweeted "Devin Booker has 64 points in the fourth"... I thought it was over the last few games or something.. then I checked the Suns x Celtics boxscore and

[zz21]

[Alejandrov011]

I didn't saw it Andrew!! Sorry

I can believe it!! As a Suns fan I'm going crazy.... he's just 20!

[Andrew]

No harm done.

It's definitely crazy. For what it's worth, his father Melvin played a couple of years in the NBA back in the mid 90s. His career high was 16, so if nothing else, he's well and truly eclipsed his old man!

[Valor]

The fact that he did it with only 4 three pointers makes it even more enjoyable to witness. Scoring in all sorts of ways, beautiful to watch

[Andrew]

True, there was something kind of old school about it.

[Phil89]

Amazing effort for any player, let alone a 20 year old. I wouldn't be surprised to see him win a scoring title or two in the future.

[Sauru]

so if i am to understand the logic of kobe fans, this makes him greater than michael jordan right?

[mp3]

Yeah he scored 70 but his team gave up 130 points in regulation and were beaten by 10.

[Andrew]

so if i am to understand the logic of kobe fans, this makes him greater than michael jordan right?

70 points plus the fact he did at age 20 makes him clearly superior to MJ. You're a bitter old insecure hater if you disagree.

Of course, Lonzo Ball could've scored 70 points in the fourth quarter alone, without even having to leave the backcourt.

[Andrew]

Highlights:

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[big-shot-ROB]

I watched the game. I do not want to sound like a hater or anything, but if I do I really don't care. That was the less impressive scoring performance I have ever seen. The Celtics were up by 20 already 5 minutes into the game. Then they started playing the bench and just holding on to the lead. For granted, he already had 21 points in the half, and I totally hand every bucket of those to his credit. The second half was 24 minutes of garbage time. He had 50 points when only 5 minutes remained. The Suns started giving him the ball, fouling and taking time outs. He shot 26 free throws, and some of the fouls were really really weak.

I'd rank the performance like a 40-50 point game, it is disrespectful to the NBA and legends legacy to put this performance next to Robinson's, Kobe's, LeBron's, etc..

Despite that, huge credit to the boy. He has a bright future, and I would really like to see him explode like this in a playoffs game when the young suns mature. He undeniably has the skill to do it.

[Andrew]

It may not be a popular opinion, but I can't entirely disagree with that. Indeed, I did subtly allude to it in my original post. There was some force-feeding and deliberate manufacturing of extra points down the stretch, without question. In that respect, it may not be as "organic" as other historically significant scoring displays, and it obviously comes without a win.

Then again, accounts of Wilt Chamberlain's 100 point game describe it as being something of a farce in the final minutes, with his teammates passing up open shots and fouling in order to get him the ball and ultimately, the record. Despite that, the milestone is still revered, so I guess it is what it is.

[Brave Sir Rubin]

Devin Booker dropping 70 is a good analogy for everything that's wrong with today's NBA.

There's no way, no fucking way, he could have dropped 70 on even the worst damn team in the league as recently as 10 years ago.

[Andrew]

I don't know if I'd go that far myself. Unexpected players have been known to drop 50+ in eras past. Given the feeding and padding that was going on towards the end of the game, it stands to reason that his career night could be extended out to an even higher total.

[Brave Sir Rubin]

The opposing team wouldn't have allowed that kind of feeding and padding 10 years ago.

[Andrew]

Maybe, maybe not. It's nothing new, after all. As I said, accounts of Wilt's 100 point game confirm there was some padding going on to get him to the century mark. About a decade or so ago, both Bob Sura and Ricky Davis had games where they intentionally missed in an effort to tally triple-doubles, in Davis' case even shooting at his own basket.

[Dee4Three]

My opinion...

This has to be the most underwhelming big scoring game in the NBA's history. I watched the game, and while he did make a few difficult shots... this looked lazy, almost like it was given to him on a Silver Platter. Just look at the way he got his points during most of the game.

I'm not a Booker hater either, I think he's a great talent. But watching this.... it certainly didn't look like 70 points.

[Jeffx]

Yeah he scored 70 but his team gave up 130 points in regulation and were beaten by 10.

Exactly.

[Andrew]

Again, I can't entirely disagree with the criticism. I think he deserves his moment and credit for knocking down all the shots and free throws, but a lot of them were manufactured in the waning moments of a loss that had already been decided. It's hard to make that criticism without sounding like a hater, and like I said he deserves his due, but the criticism isn't exactly off-base.

My opinion...

This has to be the most underwhelming big scoring game in the NBA's history. I watched the game, and while he did make a few difficult shots... this looked lazy, almost like it was given to him on a Silver Platter. Just look at the way he got his points during most of the game.

I'm not a Booker hater either, I think he's a great talent. But watching this.... it certainly didn't look like 70 points.

Would you perhaps call it a 50-point game with padding?

[Dee4Three]

Again, I can't entirely disagree with the criticism. I think he deserves his moment and credit for knocking down all the shots and free throws, but a lot of them were manufactured in the waning moments of a loss that had already been decided. It's hard to make that criticism without sounding like a hater, and like I said he deserves his due, but the criticism isn't exactly off-base.

My opinion...

This has to be the most underwhelming big scoring game in the NBA's history. I watched the game, and while he did make a few difficult shots... this looked lazy, almost like it was given to him on a Silver Platter. Just look at the way he got his points during most of the game.

I'm not a Booker hater either, I think he's a great talent. But watching this.... it certainly didn't look like 70 points.

Would you perhaps call it a 50-point game with padding?

It felt even lower than that. I went to a Celtics vs Raptors game in the mid 2000's. and I saw Mike James put up close to 30... and his performance was amazing, the way he got his points, when he got his points, how he got them. That Mike James performance looked far superior to the Booker performance. That is just my opinion.

[OathMamba]

How bad are the Suns that you put up 70 on that efficiency and still lose by 10? Booker's gonna be special.

[NovU]

This kid truly deserves Garbage Time Specialist nickname.

[Jackal]

That's basically every Suns game.