Behind Booker, Warren, the Phoenix Suns clinch NBA Summer League playoff berth
Jul 14, 2015, 9:44 PM | Updated: 9:50 pm
In his third game of NBA Summer League action in Las Vegas, Phoenix Suns rookie Devin Booker picked an opportune time to break out of a nasty shooting slump.
After shooting a combined 6-for-23 from the field in his first two games, Booker rallied Tuesday in Phoenix’s 91-82 win over Utah, converting 7-of-18 attempts — including his first three shots of the game — to notch a team-high 18 points. The Kentucky product added six rebounds.
Booker would also register his first three-pointers as a Suns summer leaguer, going 2-for-5 from distance to help lead Phoenix to victory.
“Everyone talks about him being a great shooter, which he is, but he can put it on the floor now too,” Suns summer league coach Nate Bjorkgren said. “He can come off ball screens and he makes nice reads, comes up with his eyes open and is a willing passer. I thought he did a lot of nice things [Tuesday].”
You can count T.J. Warren, Alex Len and Josh Harrellson as other players who did nice things for Bjorkgren’s group versus the Jazz. Warren and Harrellson would finished 16 and 15 points, respectively, while Len would lead the Suns on the glass with 14 rebounds.
With the win, the “Summer Suns” have locked up a first round bye in the tournament set to tip-off later this week. Phoenix will enter the tourney as the No. 8 seed and will play the winner of (9) Houston and (24) Milwaukee Thursday at 1:00 p.m.
Jon Bloom contributed to this report.
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