Devin Booker and Cam Whitmore were involved in a brawl when the Phoenix Suns hosted the Houston Rockets at the Footprint Center on Thursday. The Suns beat the Rockets 110-105 and were led by Booker’s 35-point performance coupled with seven rebounds and three assists.
However, the match was not without drama when Rockets goalie and forward Whitmore had to be separated, leading the referees to issue double technical fouls to both players.
With 6:48 left in the final quarter, Booker made a three-pointer to give the Suns a 93-84 lead. As he landed, the guard was shoved by Whitmore, who saw the first one run into him. The two men engaged in a shove and exchanged words before having to be separated by staff from both teams.
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It was the second time the two faced off earlier when Phoenix lost 110-114 to the Rockets at the Toyota Center. On the gaming side, Kevin Durant had 24 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Center Jusuf Nurkic had 16 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks before fouling out. The biggest moment came in the fourth sequence, when he put Whitmore in possession twice after the altercation, drawing huge roars from the Phoenix fans in the arena.
For the Rockets, Jalen Green had 34 points and Fred VanVleet had 21. Whitmore finished his night with 14 points and 8 rebounds. The two parties meet again Saturday evening.
Devin Booker scored 15 points in the first quarter before battling with Cam Whitmore
The Suns got off to a hot start after Devin Booker scored 15 points in the first quarter. This allowed the team to head into halftime up 61-53. By the end of the game, Booker was 13 for 27 as Phoenix closed out the game with a win to improve to 35-24 and remain fifth in the crowded West.
In the absence of Bradley Beal, it fell to Booker and Durant to pace the offense, and that’s exactly what the Suns did as the two superstars combined for 59 points. Booker, an All-Star reserve this season, is currently averaging 27.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 7.0 assists.
Despite Beal’s absence, the Suns are one of the teams poised to make the playoffs this season. With 23 games left in the season for the Suns, they will be looking to finish in the top five. As for their next game against Houston, it remains to be seen if there will be more fireworks ahead between Devin Booker and Cam Whitmore.
