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NBA Finals: Devin Booker breaks 54-year-old record for most points in 1st playoffs

Devin Booker bounced back from a quiet Game 3 to make history in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

The Phoenix Suns star dropped 42 points on Wednesday to break the record for most points in an NBA player's first playoffs, with 542 points. That wasn't enough for the Suns to take a 3-1 Finals lead, though, as the Milwaukee Bucks roared back to a 109-103 win.

Rick Barry of the Golden State Warriors previously held the record for more than a half-century, scoring 521 points in the 1967 playoffs. Now, sitting in third is a fellow by the name of Julius Erving:

That record is reflective both of how much of a revelation Booker has been this postseason and how long it took the Suns to finally break through the playoffs with him.

It took six years for Booker's Suns to make the playoffs, languishing at the bottom of the Western Conference until Deandre Ayton took a step forward and Chris Paul came to town.

Booker's rise has been steady over that span, but he's been something else in the Suns' NBA Finals run. Entering Wednesday, Booker had averaged 26.3 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game, scoring at least 30 points in eight different games.

Of course, it might be worth noting that while Booker has scored more points than Barry, Barry posted his 521 points in only three series, averaging 34.7 points per game, while Booker is playing in his fourth series.

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