Former UNC basketball standout Cam Johnson had a big night for the Phoenix Suns.
Cam Johnson had been in the Phoenix Suns’ starting lineup three straight games, the last two of which they’d lost to the New Orleans Pelicans and the Utah Jazz. On Wednesday night, Johnson came off the bench to give Phoenix the boost they needed, scoring a team-high 20 points en route to a 120-90 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
It was the Suns’ league-best 50th win of the season, one that had evaded them for nearly a week. Thanks to Johnson’s big game, though, and double-digit scoring outputs from five other Suns, Phoenix was able to win a game that featured neither Chris Paul nor Devin Booker. Paul remains out with a broken thumb that could keep him sidelined for the remainder of the season and Booker entered the league’s health-and-safety protocols prior to Wednesday’s game.
But Johnson had things covered, as he got off to a good start and never let up. He hit 6-of-8 shots for the game including 4-of-5 from three-point range and 4-of-4 at the free throw line. He added four rebounds, four assists, one steal and committed just one turnover in 24 minutes of play.
Cam Johnson 🤝 making another Shazam 👌 pic.twitter.com/uWfkZc7Sdo
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) March 3, 2022
The game marked Johnson’s ninth of the season scoring 20 or more points and his third in the last four. It was his 16th time knocking down at least four three-pointers, something he did just 10 times over his first two seasons of professional ball.
Johnson has become one of the league’s most reliable long-range shooters, hitting threes at a 43.7 percent clip this season. He’s also among a shortlist of names in consideration for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award. Although I don’t think he’ll win the award, he continues to prove that he is a deadly shooter and a much more well-rounded offensive threat than anyone initially thought.
He’s averaging career-highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals, shooting percentage, three-point percentage and free throw percentage. He’s currently the Suns’ fifth-leading scorer at 12.4 points per game and their best long-range shooter by a country mile.
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