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Devin Booker made history in Game 2 of the 2021 NBA Finals after the Phoenix Suns guard scored 31 points against the Milwaukee Bucks and led his team to a 118-108 victory.
On Thursday, Booker joined an elite club of players that included some of the best in league history when his point total didn’t include a single attempt at the free-throw line. Though there have been others who have never taken a free throw in the NBA Finals, the 24-year-old did so while recording the most points ever, per info provided by StatHead Basketball.
All-time greats in the NBA Finals with no attempts at the line
There have been a number of great players who matched Booker in terms of scoring a bunch of points without attempting a free throw in the NBA Finals. But this list is about the five highest scoring games with zero free-throw attempts, but there was a four-way tie in the last two positions.
Rather than expand the list to seven, we’ve highlighted the two players whose teams won that particular NBA Finals game. All four players scored 28 points, but the two who we will skip featuring are the Baltimore Bullets’ Fred Carter (28 points, 14-of-24 FG) against the Milwaukee Bucks on April 30, 1971, and the Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson (28 points, 11-of-18 FG) versus the Toronto Raptors on June 7, 2019.
Carter’s team lost 118-106 and Thompson’s squad was defeated 105-92.
We also separated the last two players by their field-goal percentages just so we don’t have to keep them in a tie for fourth place on our list.
With that said, let’s check out the 5 highest scoring performances in NBA history by players who had 0 free-throw attempts:
#5 Stephen Curry
Stat line: 28 points (11-of 22 FG; 6-of-11 3PT)
2017 NBA Finals Game 1: Golden State Warriors vs Cleveland Cavaliers (June 1, 2017)
The Golden State Warriors Dynasty at its peak saw Stephen Curry impose his will on his opponents in the NBA Finals. Though Kevin Durant led the Warriors in scoring with 38 points, Curry’s 28 included six 3-pointers with no free-throw attempts. His sensational shooting from beyond the arc cut the heart out of the Cavaliers in the first game of the 2017 Finals.
Durant and Curry were the only players to score in double figures for the Warriors, but they routed the Cavs anyway, 113-91. Furthermore, Curry had the highest plus/minus in the game with a +20 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
#4 Kobe Bryant
Stat line: 28 points (14-of 27 FG)
2000 NBA Finals Game 4: LA Lakers at Indiana Pacers (June 14, 2000)
![Kobe Bryant #8 in Game 4 of the 2000 NBA Finals [Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2021/07/b3ba5-16258462773083-800.jpg)
One of the best Finals games of Kobe Bryant’s young career was this game against the Pacers. Shaquille O’Neal fouled out of Game 4 in regulation and it was up to a 21-year-old kid to prevent a 2-2 tie in the 2000 NBA Finals (the Lakers were up 2-1 in the series).
Bryant indicated to O’Neal, the league MVP at the time, that he had the game under control. In overtime, a young Black Mamba scored eight points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field. The biggest play of the game was his tip-in of a Brian Shaw miss that gave the Lakers a 120-117 lead with 5.0 seconds remaining.
Reggie Miller made one free-throw off an away-from-play foul to cut the lead to two, 120-118, but he missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
#3 Khris Middleton
Stat line: 29 points (12-of 26 FG; 5-of-12 3PT)
2021 NBA Finals Game 1: Milwaukee Bucks at Phoenix Suns (July 6, 2021)
Khris Middleton joined this list on Tuesday in Game 1 of the 2021 NBA Finals after scoring 29 points against the Phoenix Suns. The two-time All-Star mixed up his arsenal with drives, mid-range shots and 3-pointers in his Finals debut.
Middleton led the Milwaukee Bucks in scoring and was one of the few bright spots on the team. With his outside shot falling, the 29-year-old was a handful for the Phoenix Suns but the Bucks missed an opportunity to feed him in the latter stages of the fourth quarter. That mistake cost Milwaukee the game and they eventually lost 118-105.
#2 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Stat line: 30 points (15-of 26 FG)
1985 NBA Finals Game 2: LA Lakers at Boston Celtics (May 30, 1985)
After the infamous “Memorial Day Massacre” in which the Celtics annihilated the Lakers 148-114 in Game 1 of the 1985 NBA Finals, a 38-year-old Kareem Abdul-Jabbar needed to prove he was not washed up. The Captain scored only 12 points and grabbed a mere three boards in the Game 1 drubbing from Larry Bird and company.
In Game 2, the kid gloves were off and Kareem proceeded to rain down skyhooks on the unsuspecting Celtics. After the smoke cleared on the Lakers’ 109-102 victory, the all-time great finished with 30 points, 17 rebounds, eight assists and three blocks.
Up until Booker’s recent performance, the 30 points by Abdul-Jabbar was the highest scored by a player without attempting a free throw in the NBA Finals.
#1 Devin Booker
Stat line: 31 points (12-of 25 FG; 7-of-12 3PT)
2021 NBA Finals Game 2: Phoenix Suns vs Milwaukee Bucks (July 8, 2021)
Booker torched the Bucks all night long when he dropped seven 3-pointers on them on Thursday. Five of those threes came in the second half, many of them coming with a hand in his face.
As previously mentioned, Booker’s 31 is the highest scored by a player in the NBA Finals without taking a free-throw attempt. He’s also only the second player to do so while scoring at least 30 points, joining Abdul-Jabbar on the list.
Additionally, by making seven 3-pointers in Game 2, the Suns guard became just the 11th player to make at least that many in an NBA Finals game. Curry owns the record with nine.
Guess the Lakers players!
