CHICAGO — After being selected by Phoenix as the 13th pick in the 2015 NBA draft, Devin Booker waited six years for this moment to come.
He made sure it wouldn’t go to waste.
The fiery 6-foot-5, 206-pound guard exploded for 34 points in his playoffs debut to help the Phoenix Suns ambush the Los Angeles Lakers. 99-90, today at the Phoenix Suns Arena.
Booker swished 13 of 26 shots and made the Lakers pay for double-teams with eight assists. He also pulled down seven rebounds.
LeBron James led L.A. with 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists but Anthony Davis struggled with just 13 and Kyle Kuzma finished with zero points.
Game 2 is on Wednesday.
SIXERS 125, WIZARDS 118. Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid combined for 67 points and it was more than enough to carry the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of their first-round series.
Bradley Beal had 33 points and Russell Westbrook finished with 17 but the Wizards still fell despite making 55.7 percent of their field goals.
HAWKS 107. KNICKS 105. Trae Young sank a floater with 0.9 seconds left to play and the Atlanta Hawks pulled a minor upset at the Madison Square Garden.
Appearing in his first post-season game, Young recorded 32 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds in 35 minutes. Bogdan Bogdanovic chipped in 18 points and sank a cold 3 that tied the roller-coaster game at 103-103 with 55 seconds remaining.
Alec Burks paced the Knicks with 27.
GRIZZLIES 112, JAZZ 109. In the nightcap of a quadruple header, the No.8 seed Memphis Grizzlies rallied from 14 points down in the opening half to stun No.1 seed Utah at the Vivint Smart Arena.
Dillon Brooks had the game of his life with 31 points while point guard Ja Morant abused the Jazz defense with 26 points and four dimes. Jonas Valanciunas and Kyle Anderson combined for 29.
Bojan Bogdanovic was the main man for Utah with 29 points. Michael Conley accounted for 22 and 11 assists but the Jazz couldn’t get past Memphis without their star Donovan Mitchell, who is out with an injured ankle. (HDS)
