Suns’ Devin Booker reveals apology he received after scary moment in loss to Celtics

The Phoenix Suns had a golden opportunity to avenge their earlier defeat this season to the Boston Celtics, as they now had the services of Devin Booker in a heavyweight matchup against the team with the best record in the NBA unlike in their first matchup. However, the Celtics proved to be too strong of a team to overcome for the Suns even with Booker present, as Phoenix took a 127-112 loss despite getting 23 points and seven assists from their star man.

It was an overall difficult night for the Suns made even more challenging by the fact that Booker was involved in a scary play that did not receive a proper application of rules from the officials. During the third quarter, the Suns star rose and made a contested midrange jumper over the outstretched arms of Xavier Tillman Sr., who impeded Booker’s landing space. This caused the Booker’s left foot to land on the Celtics center’s right foot.

That is as clear of a shooting foul as it can get, but instead, the referees swallowed their whistle and allowed play to go on. In the end, the referees admitted their mistake and apologized to Devin Booker, saying they should have gave him a free throw for a blatant Celtics infraction.

“He just apologized. Said they seen it, should have called it. Don’t know how it works, but at least I got an apology,” Booker told reporters following the Suns’ loss, per Duane Rankin of AZ Central.