On the anniversary of a 70 point game, Booker drops 49 points.
Chris Paul was eager to rejoin his teammates who were having all the fun, even if that meant playing his first game in five weeks at altitude.
The Phoenix Suns won their seventh straight game and the top seed in the NBA playoffs with a 140-130 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night, thanks to the return of Paul from a broken thumb.
I have been playing pickup, 3-on-3, 2-on-2 but 5-on-5 is completely different when you are in Denver. I mean, whew!' said Paul, who had 17 points and 13 rebound in serving as the ideal wingman for Booker, who scored a season-high 49 points with 10 assists.
The number on Booker's mind was not 49.
Sixty wins is something I never thought of, to be completely honest.
Paul said that they have a special team. Being a part of this team is something. I am happy that I could return.
The Suns trailed most of the game but used a 36-24 fourth quarter to improve their NBA-best road record to 30-6.
The Nuggets coach said they had to play almost perfect basketball to beat the team.
The Suns are trying to make the NBA Finals for the second year in a row after losing to the Milwaukee Bucks last year, and lead the NBA with a 60-14 record.
Suns coach Monty Williams said that one person in the locker room was thinking about 60 wins and what it meant.
Williams said that getting Chris back gave them a lot of confidence.
The large contingent of Suns fans serenaded Booker with chants. He responded by sinking 15 of 17 free throws when he stepped up to the line.
Williams said before the game that he was going to limit Paul's minutes.
I'm a liar. I said I was not going to play him in the 30s. Williams said that he was talking to him and that he was fine.
The Nuggets got points from three different players. Phoenix was even hotter, hitting at a 60.5% clip.
Bridges' basket gave the Suns the lead for good and he finished with 22 points.
Bridges was 8-of-9 from the field. Deandre Ayton had a career-high 35 points in a comeback victory at Minnesota, while Booker, Bridges and Deandre Ayton played well in Paul's absence. He had 16 on Thursday.
The Suns were concerned that Paul might not be able to play the rest of the season because of his thumb injury, but the veteran had been active in recent practices in a push to return.
Even though the Suns did well without Paul, Booker was happy to see him getting his legs back.
The Suns wrapped up the best record in the NBA and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs with a nine-game lead over the second-place Memphis Grizzlies.
Paul has been on a team that won 60 games twice.
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