The Phoenix Suns may have lost by 33 points to the Utah Jazz but none of that matters right now. What matters is that Jimmer Fredette and Devin Booker combined for 65 points in the funniest, most outrageous game of the season.
In case you are new, Jimmer Fredette is back in the NBA and on the Phoenix Suns none the less. Tonight he might have been the only thing that stopped Devin Booker from scoring 60 plus points again.
Although that may not be completely true, Jimmer mania did clash with Booker’s attempt at making more history tonight. Playing in front of his fans from his college days at BYU this was the assigned game for Jimmer to get his shots up and have the crowd cheer him on.
In a way Jimmer did his part, his 1-10 shooting led him to 6 points putting him only 4 points away from sole possession of the night’s second leading scorer for the Phoenix Suns. Speaking of four, Devin managed to convince his teammates to make four shots tonight and give him four, tied for the team high on the night.
Obviously though, Booker scoring 59 points even in a blowout loss is and should be the headline of the game for the Phoenix Suns. We even had the anniversary of the practice rehearsal 2 years and 1 day ago! Just like his 70 point game, these were not just “empty stats” as many will label them. They were earned and efficient.
The most impressive part of Bookers scoring outburst was his elite efficiency. Booker made 19 of 34 shots for a staggering 56% shooting, including 16 of 17 makes from the line. The 56% comes in just below the 64% of his team’s points that Booker scored (59 of 92).
It is also possible that Booker could have gotten well into the 60’s if he had taken the three shots that Jimmer took after Booker checked back in with 2:57 left to play. Or if it were not for the Jazz intentionally fouling De’Anthony Melton while up by over 30 with under 20 seconds left, which is something you do not see in the NBA everyday.
Although the plus/minus stat can sometimes be tricky, it is certainly no mistake in this 33 point loss where Booker was only a -13 in his 41 minutes of playing time. This means that the Suns would have had to get outscored by 20 points in the 7 minutes Booker did not play, and against all odds they did!
On a night where Jimmer Mania enters Utah and clashes with a scorching hot Devin Booker, things are going to get crazy and they certainly did in this game tonight. Hopefully though, the next time Booker goes on a crazy scoring outburst it will be the Suns who end the night with the victory.