Devin Booker went into Monday night’s game against the Brooklyn Nets just six points shy of 3,000 for his career. It wouldn’t take long for the 21-year-old to hit yet another historical milestone.
Less than five minutes into the game, Booker knocked down a mid-range jumper to give himself seven early points as he became the fourth-youngest player in NBA history to score 3,000. The other three? LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony.
“It means a lot,” Booker said. “My dream my whole life was to play in the NBA. Once I got here I realized I wanted to leave a mark. Every time I go out there I try to think back to those days when I was a little kid and wanted to be successful in this league.”
In just his 165th game, it was the third-fewest career games to reach 3,000 in Suns history. Only the franchise’s two all-time leading scorers Walter Davis (124) and Alvan Adams (163) did so in fewer games.
Unfortunately, the celebration for Booker’s milestone was cut short with the Nets taking an early 28-19 lead in the first quarter.
“We got off to a bit of a slow start,” Interim Head Coach Jay Triano said. “First game back is sometimes a tough one. I thought we challenged them after the first quarter and I thought we competed after the first quarter.”
Coming off a ten-day road trip and playing in back-to-back games, fatigue seemed to play a role in the Suns performance.
“We need to be a lot better than that as far as our energy,” Triano said. “I wouldn’t say effort, but more energy because we tried. We just seemed a step slow with a lot of things."
The Suns would battle back and even take a one-point lead in the fourth quarter thanks to a Jared Dudley layup. However, the Nets continued to battle and eventually pulled away with a 98-92 victory.
“They came out ready to play,” Booker said. “We gave ourselves a chance. We fought, just couldn’t finish it out.”
The Suns will take tomorrow off before continuing this homestand on Wednesday against the Miami Heat. It will be college night at Talking Stick Resort Arena so come on down or catch the action on Fox Sports Arizona.