BBNBA: Devin Booker drops 32 points, Draymond Green loses it once again
Behind 32 points from Devin Booker, the Phoenix Suns hung out down the stretch to take down the Golden State Warriors, 119-116. But the story from that Tuesday night game wasn’t about Booker’s strong play or Bradley Beal playing his first game for the Suns since mid-November. Nope.
This one was all about Draymond Green, who just can’t seem to control himself (even more so than usual) this season.
During the middle of the third quarter, Green was ejected for the third time this season and the 18th time in his career. He got “tangled up” with Suns center Jusuf Nurkic, but instead of doing the normal thing and keeping his hands to himself like we were taught in grade school, Green for some reason spun himself into a top and slapped Nurkic across the face with his right hand. Nurkic fell to the ground and Green was quickly ejected from the game after receiving a Flagrant 2 foul. The audacity of his decision could only make me laugh.
Another suspension will be coming for Green, who was suspended for five games earlier this season after putting Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves into an unnecessarily long headlock. At the time, Golden State was leading 65-60. They would go on to lose by three.
But let’s not allow Green’s antics to take away from Booker’s performance. The former Kentucky guard shot 12-23 from the field and 3-6 from beyond the arc. He also added four rebounds, seven assists, one steal, and one block in 36 minutes played for the Suns, which moved to 13-10 with the win.
Phoenix led by 13 with about four minutes left and then by nine with under 90 seconds to go, but nearly lost the lead entirely. Thankfully, a pair of freebies by Booker pushed the Suns’ lead back to three points and put the game away for good in the final 15 seconds.
Other BBNBA notes
- In the Los Angeles Lakers’ first game since winning the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament, Anthony Davis played at a high level once again. He dropped 41 points and 20 rebounds in the championship victory on Saturday, following it up with 37 points (15-21 FG), 11 rebounds, and two blocks on Tuesday. Unfortunately, it came in a 127-125 loss to Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks, snapping L.A.’s four-game winning streak. Doncic posted 33 points, 17 assists, and six rebounds. Davis’ teammate, Jarred Vanderbilt, was sidelined with a back injury.
- Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Sacramento Kings’ three Wildcats looked sluggish. De’Aaron Fox registered 14 points, three rebounds, and three assists on 5-16 shooting in a 119-99 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Malik Monk and Trey Lyles weren’t any better. Monk finished with eight points (3-8 FG) and five assists while Lyles added three points (1-4 FG), six rebounds, and three assists. None of them played more than 26 minutes as the Clippers led by 29 going into the fourth quarter.
12/12/23 statistics
| Player | Score | PTS | FG (3PT) | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | +/- | MIN |
| Anthony Davis (LAL) | 127-125 L @ DAL | 37 | 15-21 (1-2) | 11 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 36 |
| Devin Booker (PHX) | 119-116 W vs. GSW | 32 | 12-23 (3-6) | 4 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 36 |
| De’Aaron Fox (SAC) | 119-99 L @ LAC | 14 | 5-16 (3-7) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -14 | 25 |
| Malik Monk (SAC) | 119-99 L @ LAC | 8 | 3-8 (2-5) | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -20 | 21 |
| Trey Lyles (SAC) | 119-99 L @ LAC | 3 | 1-4 (0-3) | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -19 | 20 |
| Brandon Boston Jr. (LAC) | 119-99 W vs. SAC | DNP-Illness | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jarred Vanderbilt (LAL) | 127-125 L @ DAL | DNP-Back | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jamal Murray (DEN) | 114-106 W @ CHI | DNP-Ankle | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Tonight in the NBA
- 7:00 | Pelicans @ Wizards
- 7:00 | 76ers (Maxey) @ Pistons (Knox)
- 7:30 | Hawks @ Raptors
- 7:30 | Hornets (Richards, PJ Washington) @ Heat (Adebayo: out, Herro: out)
- 8:00 (NBA TV) | Lakers (Davis, Vanderbilt) @ Spurs (Johnson)
- 8:00 | Pacers (Jackson, Tshiebwe: 2 Way) @ Bucks (Livingston, TyTy Washington: 2 Way)
- 8:00 | Grizzlies @ Rockets
- 9:00 | Knicks (Quickley: questionable, Randle, Toppin: 2 Way) @ Jazz (Juzang: 2 Way)
- 9:00 | Nets @ Suns (Booker)
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