Suns' Devin Booker Joins Mavs Legend Dirk Nowitzki in Rarified Playoff Air

Durning Friday night's Game 3 against the Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker had a playoff performance that had only been accomplished once before by Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki.

Dalton Trigg | May 6, 2023

In this story:

The NBA playoffs are always exciting under any circumstances, but every now and then, we get lucky enough to witness something truly special – something that has never been done before, or something that hasn't been done in quite some time.

One of those special performances happened during Friday night's Game 3 between the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets, as Devin Booker became just the second player in NBA postseason history to score 40+ points while also shooting 80+ percent from the field.

The only other player to accomplish that feat was Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki during the Mavs' epic 2011 championship run.

In a 121-114 win that kept the Nuggets from going up 3-0 in the second-round series, Booker scored 47 points while shooting 20-25 from the field. He also grabbed six rebounds, dished out nine assists and collected three steals in 42 minutes of play.

Nowitzki's performance happened in Game 2 of the 2011 Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He finished with 48 points, six rebounds, four assists and four blocks while shooting 12-15 from the field and 24-24 from the free-throw line in 41 minutes. Dallas won that game 121-112 and ultimately went on to win the series in five games to advance to the NBA Finals.

Ironically enough, Kevin Durant got to witness both of these rare performances up close and in person – the first time on the losing end as a member of the Thunder, and now on the winning end as a teammate of Booker. Despite shooting just 12-31 from the field, Durant had a productive game on Friday as well, finishing with 39 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

Follow Dalton Trigg on Twitter @dalton_trigg.

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Dallas Mavericks? Click Here.

Follow DallasBasketball.com on Twitter and Facebook.

Catch up on the latest Mavs Step Back Podcast episodes and be sure to SUBSCRIBE:

Published May 6, 2023

DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.