Devin Booker, Kevin Durant combine for 86 points, keep Suns afloat - ESPN

PHOENIX — Suns superstar Devin Booker remembers dreaming as a kid about dealing with this kind of pressure.

His Suns trailed the top-seeded Denver Nuggets 0-2 in their Western Conference semifinal series. His future Hall of Fame backcourt mate, Chris Paul, was sidelined for Friday's Game 3 and likely longer due to a strained left groin. Phoenix needed even more from Booker, who is leading the NBA in scoring and minutes during these playoffs.

«It's not time to fold up now,» Booker said after matching his career playoff high with a 47-point performance to lead the Suns to a 121-114 win over the Nuggets at Footprint Center.

Booker also had nine assists in his most impressive performance of a spectacular playoff run that has included three 45-point outings. He has scored 295 points in these playoffs, the most by any player in the first eight games of the postseason since Michael Jordan in 1990, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

«He doesn't run from the tough stuff,» Suns coach Monty Williams said of Booker. «I just think it's his makeup. He understands not having Chris puts more on his plate, but I don't think he forced it the way that you would think. I think he allowed the game to happen naturally and then when there were opportunities for him to push the issue. He was pretty efficient.»

Booker, often creating his own shot while handling much of the point guard responsibilities, was actually historically efficient, shooting 20-of-25 from the floor and 5-of-8 from 3-point range. He became only the second player in NBA history to shoot at least 80% from the floor while scoring 45 points or more in a playoff game, joining Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki, who did so in the 2011 West finals against Kevin