Paul Coro

The Republic | azcentral.com

HOUSTON – Suns guard Devin Booker is undeniably a top NBA rookie, ranking near the head of his class in categories across the board.

There is one category where he tops all rookies – technical fouls.

Booker picked up his fourth technical foul Tuesday for briefly tussling with Atlanta’s Mike Scott. Suns interim head coach Earl Watson loved it and has implored Booker to stand his ground with opponents or officials.

The latest incident came during a tight fourth quarter, when Booker was blindsided by a Scott back-screen. As they broke away to position for a rebound, Scott gave a poke to Booker that left the Suns rookie with a 2-inch scratch across his jawline. Booker flung his arm backward at Scott and then had a verbal stand-off with the irritable Hawks fourth-year power forward before each player was issued a technical foul.

“You can’t get pushed over in this league,” Booker said. “If you have the reputation of being soft, every time you step on the floor, teams are going to try to bully you. I have to let my presence be known.”

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Booker has the billboard smile but he plays with sneers on his face and jeers from his mouth at times. He fearlessly drives at opponents, whose physical treatment of Booker has intensified since he stepped into the Suns’ lead scoring role after the All-Star break.

He also understands his place as a rookie, carrying out duties without complaint for Suns veterans and anticipating rookie treatment on the court.

“I’m the youngest kid in the league,” said Booker, 19. “I expect it. If I was playing against the youngest kid, I’d do the same thing. I expect it every time I hit the floor.

“People always think I’m trash-talking but I’m really talking to myself. ‘Let’s go, Book.’ ‘Nobody can guard you, Book.’ I’m just talking to myself. It’s really just something that keeps me going. Some people take it personal but, oh well.”

In Tuesday's tangle between Booker and Scott, Suns center Tyson Chandler was quick to step in as Booker incredulously looked at Atlanta’s Dennis Schroder for putting a hand on his shoulder and counseling him.

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“He competes,” Chandler said. “He’ll get his respect in due time.”

Booker’s 34-point game at Atlanta, with 22 points in the second half, marked his fifth 30-point game since March 3. His six 30-point games are the most by a rookie since Stephen Curry had eight in 2009-10.

Booker’s season scoring average has risen to 13.7 points per game, trailing only Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns (18.2), Philadelphia’s Jahlil Okafor (17.5) and New York’s Kristaps Porzingis (14.3) among rookies. It is the highest scoring average by a Suns rookie since Michael Finley averaged 15.0 points in 1995-96, before Booker was born.

“This is what I like more than the scoring and more than his presence all year – that he got a tech,” Watson said. “Players grab him. They wrap their arms around him. He’s not getting the calls and we don’t want him to get calls. We want him to have to earn it but he’s fighting and finally he said, ‘Enough,’ and he squared off on a guy. That’s what I love about Devin Booker, more than the 30-plus points he had. That speaks volumes.

“I tell him all the time, ‘You’re 19. You’re going to be really good in this league. Always put some money aside to get these techs,’ Because as you see, dominant scorers in this league have to take a stand, and the referees are not going to catch every call. But you have to let the other team know that it’s not going to be allowed.”

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The $8,000 total of leagues fines from the NBA for his technical fouls is merely the price of doing business for a rookie making $2.1 million this season.

Booker has quarreled with whether he deserved each of his technical fouls but he also revels in the moment. After Tuesday’s incident, he walked to the Suns bench smiling at his coach.

“He’s not soft,” Watson said. “He’s not passive. He’s like a silent assassin and it motivates him. I love it when he does it. I love when Tyson does it. Tuck (P.J. Tucker) brings it every night. We all know A-Len (Alex Len) will drop any player at any moment. It’s just the way he plays. The tenacity moving forward has to be our style of play. Not do it every game. We don’t want to become like my former teammate Matt Barnes but we want to also let guys know we’re not going to be bullied.”

Reach Paul Coro at paul.coro@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-2470. Follow him attwitter.com/paulcoro.

Thursday’s game

Suns at Rockets

When: 5 p.m.

Where: Toyota Center, Houston.

TV/radio: FSAZ/KMVP-FM (98.7).

Rockets update: Houston is battling Dallas and Utah for one of the final two playoff spots in the Western Conference. The Rockets, who played at Dallas on Wednesday night, face four of the West’s worst teams in their final four games with three of them at home. Houston is going for its first-ever season series sweep of the Suns. James Harden, the NBA’s second-leading scorer, had 27 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in the teams’ last meeting, a 116-100 Rockets win in Phoenix on Feb. 19. Houston attempted 56 free throws in the win.