Booker and Durant Make Phoenix Suns the Team to Beat in the 2023 NBA Playoffs

• The Phoenix Suns defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 4-1 in their first-round series
• Devin Booker and Kevin Durant powered the Suns in their playoff series victory
• They made history with their scoring performances while taking on the Clippers

The Phoenix Suns are firing on all cylinders right now.

After losing their series opener against the Los Angeles Clippers, they won four straight games to book their place in the Western Conference Semifinals.

Kevin Durant and Devin Booker have been exceptional in their first playoff series together as teammates.

Booker, Durant form lethal partnership

Booker and Durant demonstrated in the series against the Clippers that they are a force to be reckoned with in this year’s playoffs.

LeBron James leads Los Angeles Lakers to No. 7 seed in West with win over Minnesota Timberwolves

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They combined for 328 points in their five games against Los Angeles in the first round.

Booker and Durant became the first pair of teammates since Laker legends, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal in the 2003 postseason, to each score at least 25 points in five consecutive games to start a playoff campaign.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, Durant and Booker are the second duo in NBA history to each record 25 points in every game of a best-of-seven series.

They joined Basketball Hall of Famers, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor in that exclusive list. The two Laker greats did it for LA in 1968 when they swept the San Francisco Warriors in four games in the Western Division finals.

The Suns are 12-1 when Durant and Booker play together, with their only loss coming in Game 1 of their series against the Clips.

They showed the brilliance of their partnership in the third quarter of Game 5, with Booker and Durant combining for 38 points during that period.

LeBron James breaks down entire Grizzlies line-up ahead of playoff matchup with Lakers

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The duo helped turn a 70-61 half-time deficit into a 111-94 advantage for Phoenix before the start of the fourth quarter.

Booker steps up his game

Durant’s arrival has made Booker’s offensive game even more fearsome. He averaged 40 points in Phoenix’s four straight wins after LA took Game 1, shooting at a high 62% clip.

According to ESPN, he is just the third player in NBA history to accomplish that feat, joining legends Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1977) and Bernard King (1984) in that exclusive group.

Booker had his best game of the playoffs in the series clincher against the Clippers, scoring 47 points which tied his playoff career-high, and dishing out ten assists. He shot 19 of 27 from the field in Game 5.

Jokic's triple-double sinks Minnesota 

Booker and Durant’s next playoff opponents will be the Denver Nuggets, Sports Brief also reported.

This is thanks to Nikola Jokic’s spectacular showing in Game 5 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Serbian big man made history with his triple-double performance in the playoff series clincher.