With Devin Booker in the health and safety protocols and Chris Paul sidelined due to a thumb injury, the Phoenix Suns needed someone to come up big to help them rally back from a double-figure fourth quarter deficit against the New York Knicks on Friday night. That someone ended up being Cameron Johnson, who had the best game of his NBA career and banked in a buzzer-beating three to give Phoenix a 115-114 win.
Johnson came off the bench and scored 38 points, with 21 of them coming in the game’s fourth quarter. The former first-round pick knocked down nine of his 12 attempts from three, with the best of the bunch coming as the horn went off to signify the end of the game. After Alec Burks split a pair of free throws to put New York up three in the game’s final seconds, the Suns pushed the ball up the floor.
It looked like the plan was for Cam Payne to attract the defense, dump the ball off to Johnson, and let him pull up, but Johnson received the pass from basically the midcourt logo. Instead of panicking, Johnson took a dribble, pulled up, and let one fly from 30 feet out. Despite it being late, the bank was open at Footprint Center to cap off his career night.
CAM TIME
CAM JOHNSON WITH THE GAME-WINNING THREE
pic.twitter.com/KUXjTAajSf
— ESPN (@espn) March 5, 2022
The win gave Phoenix 51 wins on the season, tying the number they achieved last season, and helped them push their lead atop the Western Conference to eight games over the 2-seed Golden State Warriors.
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