Here come the Suns!
The Philadelphia 76ers had no answer for Devin Booker, who tied his season-high with 36 points on 14-of-23 shooting, adding five rebounds and four assists to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 120-111 win.
The streaking Suns have now won five games in a row and eight of their last nine, including wins over the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics in the past week.
The Suns have won 5 in a row (including vs 76ers, Bucks, Celtics).
— StatMuse (@statmuse) February 13, 2021
Devin Booker in that span:
- 28.6 PPG
- 5.6 APG
- 53.5 FG%
- 44.8 3P% pic.twitter.com/dfaF0ZBLLM
Booker now has 48 career 35-point games, 15 more than any other player in Suns history.
The 24-year-old got off to a slow start with Ben Simmons guarding him, cutting off driving lanes and denying him looks from beyond the arc, but as the game wore on and the 76ers tweaked their defensive matchup, Booker pounced, finding his way to the rim and getting to his spots from mid-range.
He came to life in the third quarter, scoring 16 points to the Suns a five-point lead going into the fourth. A fast start to the period saw the Suns stretch their lead to 11, before Joel Embiid's bucket got Philly back to within five points at 102-97 midway through the quarter, before an 11-2 run restored the Suns' double-digit lead.
Then, with just under two minutes remaining in the game and the Suns in front by 11, Booker shut the door on the 76ers with this logo three.
Devin Booker from DEEP to give him 36 PTS on NBA TV! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/rqQUFaHeQu
— NBA (@NBA) February 13, 2021
"This what I've been waiting on. Playing competitive basketball night in and night out," Booker said post-game.
"So it's been five years of keeping my head down, staying locked in and seeing tunnel vision, trying to play the right way through it all for these moments right here. So I don't wanna look back,"
Booker has been a thorn in the 76ers side in recent years, regularly piling up the points. Since his third season in the NBA, Booker has enjoyed some of his best games against Philly, averaging north of 35 points per game.
He has scored 30+ points in each of his last seven games against the 76ers, the longest streak by a Suns player against a single opponent.
Booker vs. 76ers
| Season | Games | PPG | FG% | 3P% |
| 2020-21 | 1 | 36.0 | 60.9 | 60.0 |
| 2019-20 | 2 | 37.5 | 60.5 | 62.5 |
| 2018-19 | 2 | 37.0 | 46.0 | 36.4 |
| 2017-18 | 2 | 39.0 | 46.3 | 55.6 |
The Suns shot a scorching 60 percent from the field and got plenty of production from their second unit, led by 15 points from Dario Saric in his first game back after missing a month of action due to the league's COVID-19 health and safety protocol and an ankle injury.
The Suns bench connected on 19-of-29 shots on the night as they outscored the 76ers reserves 49-20.
"It's so nice, man,'' Booker said. ``We're deep. I feel like we're 15 deep. Everyone can play and everyone's ready to go.''
The 76ers have now lost two games in a row and are 7-7 on the road this season, but still sit at the top of the Eastern Conference at 18-9, while the Suns sit fourth in the West at 16-9.
Joel Embiid led the way for Philly, scoring 35 points to extend his streak of scoring 25+ points to 11 games, while Ben Simmons had 18 points, six rebounds and four assists and Tobias Harris 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting.
The 76ers will wrap up their four-game road trip on Monday (E.T.) against the Utah Jazz, while the Suns will look to extend their win streak to six games when they host the Orlando Magic on Sunday (E.T.).
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