Getty Suns' Kevin Durant and Damion Lee
Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant showered guard Damion Lee with praise after the Game 3 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
“Yeah he’s a champion,” Durant said. “So you gotta give him credit for knowing what it is to be a champion and being a champion is just coming to work every day and giving it your all and following the game plan. I think that’s what he did when he came out there is stay ready. He knocked down a couple 3s, got to the free-throw line, but on the defensive side of the ball, he was there for us and made the correct plays.”
Lee played 11 minutes in Game 3. The sharpshooter scored eight points while shooting 2-of-3 from beyond the arc and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. The 30-year-old didn’t play in Game 1 and only played three minutes in Game 2, so he deserves credit for staying ready and answering the bell when his number was called by head coach Monty Williams.
Kevin Durant on Devin Booker’s Game 3: ‘Great Performance’
Durant had nothing but special things to say about Devin Booker‘s Game 3. Booker scored 45 points while shooting 18-of-29 from the field, 3-of-7 from beyond the arc and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line in 45 minutes.
“Great performance,” Durant said. “In the playoffs like that on the road. Game 3. 45. With that efficiency. It’s almost, I expect stuff like this from him at this point in his career, but he set the tone. Getting to the rim, making plays for others, just controlling the whole game and we’re gonna need him to continue to do that moving forward.”
Booker is putting up stellar numbers in the Clippers series. The Kentucky product is averaging 36.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists while shooting 60.0% overall and 41.2% from 3.
“I’m just put in the right situations,” Booker told Ashley ShahAhmadi of NBA TV after Game 3. “We have KD out here. We have Chris Paul. Those guys attract a lot of attention. It opens up spots for me. Coach does a good job of putting us in situations where we can succeed and that’s just what we been doing.”
The Lakers Are Considered a Landing Spot for Damion Lee
On April 7, Alex Kirschenbaum of Sports Illustrated wrote that Lee is a player the Los Angeles Lakers could use next season. Lee becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer.
“Stephen Curry’s brother-in-law has emerged as a really critical bench shooting piece for Phoenix all year, far outperforming his current veteran’s minimum deal,” Kirschenbaum wrote. “The 30-year-old may have peaked already in the league, but he has one very, very marketable skill that the long-range-challenged Lakers lack: he’s one of the NBA’s top three-point shooters. Lee is making 45% of his 3.4 triples a night, across just 20.2 minutes per. He’s not the defender or volume shooter that Malik Beasley (the guy he’d probably replace on LA’s roster) is, but his sharpshooting acumen makes him worth a look. He could also be had for much less than Beasley’s $16.5 million team option next summer.”
Lee averaged 8.2 points for the Suns during the regular season while shooting 44.5% from 3-point land. He’s the brother-in-law of Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry.