As he walked into the tunnel moments after posting his first career triple-double for the Phoenix Suns, with big man Deandre Ayton walking in, Devin Booker grabbed his phone to make a FaceTime call.
"You've seen them assist 11, haven't you?" Ayton said on the phone. "You've seen him throw 11 paise, haven't you?"
At the other end of the call was Chris Paul, who missed Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the LA Clippers due to being in the league's health and safety protocols. But behind an electrifying performance from Booker, who finished with 40 points on 15-in-29 shooting, as well as 13 rebounds and 11 assists referencing Ayton, the Sons took a 1-0 series lead over the Clippers 120-114. Stopped to pick up in Phoenix on Sunday.
"We've put him on FaceTime. He's our leader. We depend heavily on him," Booker said. "We know how disappointed and dismayed he is that he couldn't be out here for Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, especially knowing his past history at this point. But we had him all the way. We Brought him to the locker room, kept him in the bustle after our game. He's proud of us. He's ready to come back, he's working and we can't wait for him.
Without Paul's steady hand, Sun looked to Booker to carry them. He set an early tone, focusing on delivery, but as Clippers star Paul George scored in the third quarter, Booker took on a more aggressive scoring mentality, George nearly shot for shot.
"I love the way Devin did it," coach Monty Williams said. "He didn't inject himself into the game. He just did it out of what we did. A lot of times a guy scores and you just want to catch the ball and take a shot. I thought that way Devin Did it. Tonight was within our plan and what we do."
As good as Booker was, Sooraj isn't pretending he didn't remember Paul. As the game transitioned into a time of crisis where Paul thrives, there were moments when Paul's absence was felt.
"We definitely miss him. The last three minutes of that game, when we were like, 'Where the hell Chris?'" said forward Jae Crowder. "That's the point when he's that man. He's the man who makes this game for everybody, the man who puts us in position."
But Booker was ready to take on the responsibility of scoring or assisting on 43 of the Sons' final 50 points.
"That's the book," Williams said. "He's been waiting for this moment, these moments for a long, long time."
Joining Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Bob McAdoo, Rick Barry and Wilt Chamberlain, Booker is the sixth player in NBA history to record as many 40-point games in his first career post-season. Booker is also the first Sons player since Steve Nash to triple-double in the playoffs.
Booker said of the triple-double, "I think I've come close at times in my career, but never went over the hump." "But I'll take it now."
As the Clippers made a push into the fourth quarter, the Suns never budge, looking to Booker, who deftly managed the net and double-team, choosing his spot to shoot from midrange (10 in Game 1). 10 to 15 on 19 ft shots) and finding cutters and shooters. It was a master class in sports management, with exactly the same look and feel as how Paul would handle it.
Booker said, "Chris is one of my mentors and because we can't be here today, we wanted to do it for him. We talked about that pregame." "We all knew we had to give it a little bit more. Protecting the ball, my job is to keep everyone involved. Stuff that's usually on Chris' plate, we all have to prepare for today as a team "
One of those things is often midrange proficiency, and according to Second Spectrum, Booker shoots 13-for-18s at jumpers from dribbles, the highest number of times any player since Second Spectrum began tracking in 2013–14. The player with the most jumps from dribbles made by
"I don't know if I showed that much emotion through the playoffs," Booker said, "but with Chris not out and this being a high-intensity game, we wanted a bad one."
Without Paul, the starting spot went to Cameron Payne, who was solid with 11 points and 9 assists in 29 minutes. Against the Clippers' defensive approach, Sun emphasized the safety of the ball, turning it only seven times.
"Every time you say turnover, I think of Chris," Booker said. "I've been with him throughout the season and watch him control the game and how he never turns the ball. It's a rare sight when he does. We knew it was our duty to take care of the ball. will be important."
After the series against the Nuggets, where Paul posted a ridiculous 41-to-5 turnover ratio for the series, it looked like a tribute to the Suns' ratio of 31-to-7 in Game 1.
"There was no other way to play the game. We are the same, but we had to build up that level of confidence because we didn't have Chris," Williams said. "Chris is the guy who manages the game, organizes everything we do. So when you get that guy off the floor, you have to trust him more. I think when we It's going to help us if we bring Chris back."
Williams has insisted that Paul's status remains the same day-to-day, with a further update expected on Monday regarding Paul's availability for Game 2 on Tuesday.
"As far as Chris is concerned, it's a day-to-day thing with him right now," Williams said. "I probably drive people in town crazy with it, but that's it. We hope that someday now we hear that he can ramp up and come back with us, but for now he's in protocol." "