Kings at Suns
Phoenix rookie sharpshooter Devin Booker has established that he's on
the way to stardom despite his team's dismal season. The guard, at 19
years, 162 days, became the fourth-youngest player in NBA history to
reach 1,000 career points and he aims to add on to the total when the
Suns host the Sacramento Kings on Monday.
Booker was being brought along slowly but things changed once guard Eric Bledsoe suffered a season-ending knee injury. Now he's the most dependable player on the roster by scoring in double digits in 22 of the past 23 games, and the only players to reach 1,000 career points at a younger age are LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant. "I'm on the right track," Booker told reporters. "That makes me want to work that much harder, being mentioned with those names. That kind of puts the self-pressure on me. Just to know that I have high expectations in the future and to keep working because my ceiling is so high because I'm being mentioned with those names, so I'm just trying to live up to expectations." Sacramento will be without All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins, who is sitting out the final two games of the season to rest his sore feet.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, NBATV, CSN California (Sacramento), FSN Arizona-Plus (Phoenix)
ABOUT THE KINGS (32-48): Guard Seth Curry is making a late-season splash and is trying to work his way into Sacramento's plans for next season. The younger brother of reigning NBA MVP Stephen Curry made a career-best six pointers while scoring 20 points in Saturday's 114-112 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder and has three 20-point outings in the past seven games. Curry's season average is just 6.4 points but he has put up an average of 15.2 over the last nine contests.
ABOUT THE SUNS (22-58): Forward Mirza Teletovic is an unrestricted free agent after the season and the 30-year-old is certainly helping his stock with a strong finish. He has scored 22 or more points in four of the past five games and is averaging 21.6 points during the stretch while raising his season mark to 11.9. Teletovic has been superb from 3-point range and his 175 makes are the most by a reserve in NBA history.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Kings have won five of the past seven meetings.
2. Sacramento PG Rajon Rondo has been rested for three of the past four games and could again sit on Monday.
3. Phoenix backup PG Archie Goodwin scored 14 points against New Orleans - five shy of his career high total he scored against the Kings on April 16, 2014.