Suns’ Crawford sets new NBA record with 51-point outing in season finale

Last game of the season, why not go out with a bang?

That seemed to be Phoenix Suns guard Jamal Crawford’s thought process as he dropped 51 points in the team’s season finale Tuesday night.

Although Phoenix couldn’t take home the victory, falling 120-109 to Dallas, Crawford did just about everything to keep his team in the game.

Down 31 points in the third quarter, Crawford led the Suns back into the game, bringing the score to 107-103 with 3:39 left to play in the Suns’ season.

The guard played 38 minutes, shooting 60 percent from the field (53.8 percent from long range) to go along with five assists, five rebounds, one block and one steal.

The next closest Suns scorer was Josh Jackson, who finished with 17 points.

The team couldn’t complete the comeback, but Crawford joined some pretty stellar company with his final performance of the 2018-19 season.

With his 51-point performance, Crawford became the oldest player (39 years, 20 days) in NBA history to drop 50 in a single outing, passing Michael Jordan’s 45-point total he accomplished in 2001 as a member of the Washington Wizards.

But that’s not all.

Crawford set another feat Tuesday night, becoming the first player in NBA history with 50-point games for four different franchises (Bulls, Knicks, Warriors, Suns).

He finished one-point shy of his career-high 52 points, which he had in 2007 as a member of the Knicks.

Not bad for a vet who came off the bench Tuesday night.

Follow @Tdrake4sports