Devin Booker buries late three, Suns edge Thunder 108-105 in Phoenix
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PHOENIX — Devin Booker drilled a step-back three-pointer with 0.7 seconds remaining Sunday night, giving the Phoenix Suns a 108-105 victory over the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
The shot came seconds after Jalen Williams tied the game with 8.2 seconds left. Out of a timeout, Booker isolated against Alex Caruso near midcourt, crossed over and fired over Caruso as Luguentz Dort arrived with a late double-team. The make marked Booker’s ninth go-ahead field goal inside the final five seconds of regulation or overtime since he entered the league in 2015-16; only DeMar DeRozan has more in that span with 11, according to ESPN Research.
“Been here before,” Booker said. “In my imagination and summer workouts, it always comes down to moments like that.” The guard finished with 24 points and nine assists but admitted he meant to leave Oklahoma City no time; rookie Ajay Mitchell’s hurried three at the horn fell short.
Comeback from 18 down
Phoenix (21-14) trailed by 18 in the first half before storming back behind reserve guard Jordan Goodwin. Goodwin poured in a career-best 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting, including 8-of-13 from deep; Booker assisted on four of those baskets and delivered two secondary assists.
“A lot of those corner threes Goody got were because our superstar passes the basketball,” interim coach Jordan Ott said. “The unselfishness starts with the best player, and at the end of the night the ball finds him.”
Thunder slowed
Oklahoma City (30-6) had won the season’s first two meetings with Phoenix, including a 49-point rout in the NBA Cup quarterfinals when Booker sat out. On Sunday, the league’s top-ranked defense limited Booker to 8-of-21 shooting but couldn’t stop the final possession. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 25 points on 8-of-22 from the field.
“You can’t get to the point on the road where you’re giving an All-Star, All-NBA caliber player a chance to win the game,” Caruso said.
Booker called the win meaningful against a “seasoned” champion: “That’s who you want to measure yourself against, and we all believed in it.”
Source: ESPN
