There have been a complete of 1,230 NBA video games performed in the course of the 2022-23 season, and inside that determine, there have been a complete of simply 25 50-point performances from particular person gamers. That ought to provide you with an concept of the rarity of such brilliance. Even within the scoring growth of the previous few years, we nonetheless see 50-point outbursts in solely round 2% of all NBA video games. Any participant getting there even as soon as is a rarity. Twice is a minor miracle. 3 times? Solely the very best of the very best do this. Final season, solely 4 gamers did it.
However let’s extrapolate even additional. Not one of the 4 gamers to attain 50 three or extra occasions final season ever did so in opposition to the identical opponent greater than as soon as. In actual fact, coming into Monday, the final participant to attain 50 or extra in opposition to the identical crew twice in a single season was James Harden, who obtained to 50 twice in opposition to the Memphis Grizzlies in the course of the 2018-19 season.
Devin Booker joined Harden within the historical past books on Monday when he paired a 52-point explosion in opposition to the New Orleans Pelicans with one other 52-point line in opposition to them on Jan. 19. That, already, could be remarkably spectacular. However here is the place issues get loopy: Previous to that Jan. 19 recreation, Booker hadn’t performed in opposition to the Pelicans since Dec. 17, 2022. In that recreation, he scored 58 factors.
That implies that Booker has now scored 50 or extra factors in his final three video games in opposition to the Pelicans. Harden by no means did that. Neither did Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan. No, to seek out the final participant who scored 50 or extra in opposition to the identical crew 3 times in a row, it’s important to go all the way in which again to Wilt Chamberlain.
“Fairly frankly, we had been gentle guarding him,” Pelicans coach Willie Inexperienced said after the sport. “We had a gentle mentality when it got here to being bodily on him.”
This is able to be spectacular beneath any circumstances. Including to the madness of this streak is the opponent itself. The Pelicans entered Monday’s recreation with the No. 4-ranked protection within the NBA. Herb Jones goes to get votes for Defensive Participant of the 12 months. Few groups have a deeper and extra versatile group of perimeter defenders within the NBA than the Pelicans. That group seemingly had a deal with on Booker earlier than all of this began. Within the final three video games he performed in opposition to New Orleans earlier than this streak started, the Pelicans held him to 16 or fewer factors.
However ever since? Booker has develop into the Pelican slayer, and that title could not have come at a extra opportune second. With Monday’s victory, the Suns now path the Pelicans by just one recreation within the Western Convention standings for the No. 6 seed. The Suns now personal the tiebreaker over the Pelicans, and they’re going to host New Orleans on April 7 with an opportunity to brush the season collection. If Booker retains this up, there’s virtually little doubt that they’re going to handle to take action.
