Devin Booker makes history with 51-point game vs. Bulls

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In Wednesday night's 132-113 win over the Chicago Bulls, Phoenix Suns superstar Devin Booker scored 51 points in just three quarters of play.

But it was not just the scoring total that stood out. It was how efficiently Booker reached that point total. And in how little playing time.

With those 51 points, on 20-for-25 shooting, in 31 minutes of playing time, Booker became just the fourth player in NBA history to score 50 or more points with 25 or fewer shot attempts and in 31 or fewer minutes:

The other three? James Harden, who scored 60 points on 24 shots in 31 minutes in November 2019; Joel Embiid, who scored 50 points on 23 shots in 27 minutes in January 2022; and CJ McCollum, who had 50 points on 25 shots in 29 minutes in January 2018.

Booker, who also went 6-for-7 from 3-point range, did it with the fewest free-throw attempts of the bunch (six).

The most demoralizing stretch came in the third quarter, when, after leading Phoenix with 25 points in the first half, Booker scored 26 points in 12 minutes (on 10-for-11 shooting) to effectively close the contest out. He eclipsed the 50-point mark with this steal-and-slam late in the frame:

He did not return for the fourth quarter. The Suns did not require his services.

Booker's outing Wednesday also — obviously — marked the most points a player has scored against the Bulls this season, blowing 36-point performances by Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jayson Tatum out of the water.

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