Booker goes for 50 again in another Suns loss
Devin Booker records his second 50-point game of the week and becomes the first player to record three 50-point performances in losses. (2:13)
Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker reached the 50-point mark for the second straight game Wednesday night, a 124-121 loss to the Washington Wizards.
In doing so, he became the first player in NBA history to lose the first three games in which he scored 50 points, according to Elias Sports Bureau research.
Booker, who scored 59 in a loss to the Utah Jazz on Monday night, was 19-of-29 from the field against the Wizards and had 10 rebounds to go along with his 50 points.
“Every time I’m out there, I’m trying to find out ways to get better and find out ways to get wins for this team,” Booker said. “And I think right now, it’s time for me to be more aggressive, being down a couple men.”
Booker is the seventh player to record 50 points in consecutive games since the NBA-ABA merger (1976-77), according to ESPN Stats & Information research. He joins James Harden, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Bernard King, Antawn Jamison and Allen Iverson.
Booker also became the third player in NBA history to score at least 50 points in consecutive games and lose both, following Harden and Wilt Chamberlain.
“Devin is just — he takes so many shots that are almost like, they’re unguardable,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said. “We did the best we can. We were trying to trap him and double-team throughout the game. He’s crafty. He was attacking us.”
At 22 years, 149 days old, Booker is the fifth player in NBA history to record three 50-point games before turning 25, putting him in the company of Chamberlain, Rick Barry, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James. Of those players, only James was younger than Booker at the time of his third 50-point game.
Wednesday marked the first time a Phoenix player reached 50 in back-to-back games. Tom Chambers had been the only member of the Suns to score even 40 in successive games.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.