'Wrong timing': Phoenix Suns All-Star Devin Booker lacked edge in Game 7 loss to Dallas Mavericks

Just minutes after losing Thursday’s Game 6 in Dallas, Devin Booker had already fast forwarded to the opportunity to play in a decisive Game 7.

“I've never been in a Game 7," Booker said. "It's going to be fun.”

Recalling past Game 7s like Heat-Spurs in the 2013 finals Miami won to capture their second of back-to-back NBA championships, Booker called Game 7 “two greatest words in sports.”

Then the day before his first Game 7 ever, Booker sound ready to go.

“I’m going to be wired,” said Booker after Saturday’s practice. “I think everybody is, probably on both sides. Very excited for the opportunity.”

Then Game 7 started.

Lacking the edge and aggressiveness he normally displays, Booker missed his first nine shots, scoring just 11 points on 3-of-14 shooting in Sunday’s 123-90 drumming at Footprint Center in the grand finale of this Western Conference semifinals series.

“You have those nights during the regular season, and you have them here and there where the shot can't fall," said Booker, who missed all four of his 3-point attempts Sunday.

As a team, Phoenix shot just 37.9% from the field, going 12-of-34 from 3.

"It just happened to be the wrong timing in a Game 7," Booker added.

Scoring two points in the first half on free throws, Booker didn’t make his first field goal until five minutes was left in the third quarter with Phoenix down 78-40.

“They followed their game plan,” said Booker about the Mavericks. “They did a good job of getting the ball out of my hands and trapping every action I was in. I’ve always said I’m not the person who is going to go out there and try to shoot over eight people. I’m going to try to make the right play and that wasn’t the right play every time. Missed shots are our league. I missed the few open ones that I got.”

Booker had a tough time scoring in the last two games of this best-of-7.

The three-time All-Star connected on just 9-of-31 shots from the field, missing all eight of his deep launches.

He also turned the ball over 12 times with eight coming in Game 6. Those eight tied a career high for turnovers in a playoff game.

This was after scoring 28 on 11-of-20 shooting in Game 5, which Phoenix won at home by 30 points to go up 3-2 in the series.

“When we play hard defensively, it’s tough to stop us,” Mavericks All-Star Luka Doncic said after Game 7. “I think after the first two games here, our defense improved really well and that’s what won us the game.”

Suns coach Monty Williams said after Sunday’s loss he may have rode Booker's fellow All-Star backcourt mate Chris Paul too much in terms of minutes.

A day later, Williams felt the same way about Booker, who averaged 38.3 minutes in the conference semifinals.

“I just put a lot on his plate,” Williams said during Monday's Zoom availability. “Even the game where we were in New Orleans, his first game back, I was only going to play him around 24 (minutes) at the most. I played him 32.”

Booker returned for Game 6 of the first round against the Pelicans after missing three games with a hamstring strain.

“That’s a lot and the thing about Book and Chris is they don’t run, they don’t quit,” Williams said. “And that one was one of the reasons I took them out when I did because I knew they were going to just continue even though the score was 30-plus at the time. I just knew those guys weren’t going to stop. I just had to make a leader’s decision to get those guys out.”

Williams took Booker out with 8:08 left in the game as the Suns were down a head spinning 43 points, 105-62.

Dallas took its biggest lead later in the fourth, 111-65, with 6:23 remaining.

Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Suns All-Star Devin Booker fizzled out in Game 7 loss to Mavs