Phoenix Suns Advance to 2nd Round With Massive Devin Booker Game

The Phoenix Suns have a date with the Denver Nuggets. Thanks to a lights-out performance by Devin Booker, the Suns outlasted the Los Angeles Clippers for a 136-130 win to finish their first-round series 4-1. Booker compiled an amazing 47 points, eight rebounds, 10 assists, and two steals.

DEVIN. BOOKER.

47 PTS
8 REB
10 AST
70% FG

Suns win Game 5 and advance to the Western Conference Semifinals 🔥#NBAPlayoffs presented by Google Pixel pic.twitter.com/NqMHE1pSEX
— NBA (@NBA) April 26, 2023

Booker was ruthlessly efficient Tuesday night, hitting 19 of 27 field goal attempts and five of his six free throws. He also dug the Suns out of a 70-61 half-time hole with a preposterous third quarter in which he tallied 25 of the Suns' eye-popping 50 points while nailing 10 of 11 field goal attempts. The Clippers attempted a valiant comeback in the fourth, outscoring the Suns 36-25, but it was all for naught.

It was Booker's fourth 30+ point game of the postseason and second with 40 points or more. For the series, the three-time All-Star finishes with 37.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.4 assists, and 2.6 steals per game with an amazing .697 true shooting percentage. In a playoff matchup that included Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, and Kawhi Leonard, he was the best player on the court.

With the Clippers out of the way, the Suns can focus their energies on their upcoming blockbuster showdown with the first-seeded Denver Nuggets, who also advanced to the second round by dispatching the Minnesota Timberwolves 112-109 last night. The Nuggets should provide the Suns with a significant challenge; they'll deploy perennial MVP candidate Nikola Jokic and promising guard Jamal Murray, who appears to be peaking at just the right time (27.2 points per game in Round 1).

The Nuggets will host the Suns for Game 1 of the Western Conference semi-finals this Saturday.