Somewhat offensive
Victors applaud Booker, not Suns coach’s tactics
The game had long ceased to be anything resembling a competitive exercise when Devin Booker’s points began growing to historic proportions. Forty, 50, 60 . . .
All that was missing was the Hawks laughing on the end of the opposing bench as the Garden gathering got into it and Booker edged his way to a magical 70. Most against the Celtics. Ever.
But, no, the current Celts, even on their way to an easier-thanthefinal- wouldindicate 130-120 win, were not in a mood to act as did the Atlanta players when Larry Bird was throwing 60 at them in March 1985 — a game the C’s won by 11, by the way.
No, the home team was a little peeved last night when Phoenix coach Earl Watson began fouling the Celts and calling timeouts down the stretch to get his 20-year-old budding star extra possessions and, thus, opportunities to pad his total.
Isaiah Thomas turned to the crowd at one point and asked them why they were cheering for an opposing player like that. The answer is that the fans’ team had the game won and they were getting to watch history. It was the highest-scoring game ever for the Suns (Tom Chambers’ 60 came 27 years ago to the day), and six more than Elgin Baylor had against the C’s for the Lakers — the Minneapolis Lakers — in November 1959.
After the final buzzer, after Booker had scored 28 in the last quarter, some of the C’s moved toward midcourt and the Phoenix bench to express their displeasure.
“It’s basketball,” Watson said. “I’m not coming to any arena to be liked. If people don’t like us while we build, so what. Do something about it.”
On if his moves were about trying to get Booker to 70, Watson said, “It was about letting our kids be great. You got a problem with that? Do something. Simple as that.”
Said Booker, who hit some crazy shots on the way to a 21-for-40 night from the floor (24-for-26 on free throws): “That just shows you how down of a coach he is for me. We have a really special relationship. Not many people know it, but he was my player development (coach) last year before he became head coach, so we’ve had that connection. He wanted to see me make history. I’m pretty sure they weren’t happy about it, which I understand also, so I see both sides. But to have a coach down for you like that, that’ll do anything for you and wants to see you succeed, that means a lot.” Thomas offered a verbal shrug.
“It was weird what they were doing,” Thomas said. “I’ve never seen nothing like that. It is what it is.” Asked if the Celts were unhappy about it, Thomas said, “Yeah. I don’t think anybody has ever seen that, continuing to call timeouts, continuing to foul when we’re up 15. But, I mean, it was obvious what they were trying to do. They were trying to get him the most points possible. Hat off to him (Booker) though. He played a hell of a game.”
Thomas, who had 34 points of his own, didn’t want to get into whether he believed Watson’s decisions were disrespectful.
“It is what it is. We won the game,” he said. “We’re worried about the playoffs, and they’re worried about the lottery. (But) you got to tip your hat off to Devin Booker. Seventy points in pro-am in some city is a lot of points. Seventy points in any league is a hell of a game. It’s just how they did it at the end of the game. You can’t even get mad at the players, but, I mean, it was different. I’ll say that. It was different.”
Different, too, for Booker, the second-year wing whose previous best had been 39 points. He admitted being surprised.
“Um, yeah,” Booker said. “This doesn’t happen very often, especially against a really good defensive team like the Boston Celtics. I knew I was going to have to come in and lock in mentally tonight. Playing at Boston isn’t easy, and they made it tough for me in the first half, and I just tried to get it going. I was ultra-aggressive. My teammates started finding me, started setting really good screens, and the rest was history. It’s a zone that is kind of hard to explain. I’ve been in those zones before, but never to this extent. When you’re in the gym alone, you’re taking shots, you’re making them consecutively, you know, that’s what it started feeling like for me. I felt comfortable. I was at my home gym training. It started to get easier and easier. Shots just kept falling, tough shots, too.
“Once I found out a really good defender in Avery Bradley (illness) was out, I knew I was going to be ultra-aggressive tonight.”
As for the fans actually applauding his points at the end, Booker said, “That meant a lot, especially here in Boston. I know how rowdy they can be on an opponent sometimes, and I respect that. That’s how it should be. But that meant a lot — a storied franchise like the Boston Celtics, to be able to do it here in the Garden. It’s a night I’m going to remember the rest of my life.”
His teammates dumped ice on Booker as he entered the dressing room. He acknowledged the oddity of a 22-51 team being so celebratory, though he appreciated how happy they were for him.
“I heard Brad Stevens yell one time, ‘He has 47 points.’ I was like, ‘Coach, we’re losing. I’d rather be winning right now with 10 points,’ ” Booker said.