Devin Booker has quite the knack for hitting clutch shots (as the Los Angeles Clippers found out in the bubble). Booker drilled a game-winning three in the Phoenix Suns’ 109-108 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.
The Suns trailed 108-106 in the final seconds, but Booker saved the day by making a difficult three with 1.5 seconds remaining.
BOOKER. CLUTCH. 😱 pic.twitter.com/ZyXsliVei4
— NBA TV (@NBATV) February 2, 2021
Luka Doncic still had a chance to win it for the Mavs, but missed a long three.
Booker has now made five go-ahead shots in the final five seconds of a game since 2015-16. Only Russell Westbrook has made more. And 2015-16 was Booker’s rookie season! He’s only 24 years old.
Devin Booker hit his 5th career go-ahead FG in the final 5 seconds to beat the Mavericks. Only Russell Westbrook has made more go-ahead FG in the final 5 seconds since 2015-16 (Booker's rookie year). pic.twitter.com/v03ppsgl8I
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 2, 2021
The weird thing is that Booker hasn’t even been that great overall this season, at least compared to his usual numbers. He entered Tuesday with a pedestrian Player Efficiency Rating mark of 14.78, after being at 20-plus PER in the previous two seasons.
But it’s still very early in the season (it’s hard to put too much into numbers over a 15-game sample size), and Booker is likely still getting used to playing alongside ball-dominant newcomer Chris Paul (who had 34 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists on Monday). And maybe this big bucket will get Booker’s mojo back.
