Devin Booker struggles early as Suns eliminated by Thunder on home court

Devin Booker struggled early with the Phoenix Suns’ backs against the wall in an elimination game on Monday, as the Oklahoma City Thunder won 131-122 and completed a four-game sweep.

Booker had two points and was 0-for-3 from the floor (0-for-2 from 3) with five turnovers in the first half. The five turnovers tied the most he’s had in a game this series, and the last time he had more was seven against the Boston Celtics on March 17.

With 5:34 left in the third quarter, Booker had a block of Isaiah Hartenstein that started a 12-4 Phoenix run where Booker scored nine of the points to bring the Suns within single-digits at the end of the third.

Oklahoma City extended to a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter and held off Phoenix’s last push.

Booker finished with 24 points, including 12 in the third and 10 in the fourth. He only turned it over once in the second half following the five in the first.

Following the sweep at the hands of the reigning champs and top overall seed in these playoffs, Phoenix has lost 10 straight playoff games dating to the 2023 series against the Denver Nuggets. All three of the eliminations came at Mortgage Matchup Center.

Over Booker’s last five games in which Phoenix was eliminated, he has scored fewer than 20 points three times and nearly had a fourth Monday. He scored 49 points in a six-point loss in the other game.

Collin Gillespie was a bright spot from the first half with 17 points on six shots, finishing with 20 on 7-of-12 shooting. He greatly outperformed his one-year, $2.3 million contract this season and is likely headed for a big payday.

Phoenix trailed by eight at the half after it found 3-point success to the tune of 11 makes in the first half, which was just three away from setting a new best mark for any game in the series.

Oklahoma City, however, found similar success from behind the arc and surpassed its high mark for the series with five minutes left in the third quarter (15). The Thunder finished with 17 makes (50%) to outdo the Suns’ 14 (37%).

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