Payne's career-high 31 not enough as Suns bounced
MBB: Denver wins Western Conference Semifinal series in 6 games
Cameron Payne scored a career playoff-high with 31 points Thursday night, but it wasn’t enough as Denver beat Phoenix 125-100 in Game 6 of the NBA Western Conference Semifinals. The Nuggets eliminated the Suns four games to two.
Payne’s scoring outburst came on 12-of-16 shooting from the floor, including 7-of-9 from three-point range. He also added six rebounds in 41 minutes of action. Payne had never scored more than 29 points in an NBA game in either the regular season or the playoffs.
The former 2015 first-round pick played significant minutes the last four games of the series after Suns’ starting point guard Chris Paul was injured.
Payne averaged 10.3 points per game this year in his fourth-season with Phoenix. He has averaged in double-figures in scoring three times in his career, and those have been in three of his last four seasons.
The Murray State Hall of Famer has one year remaining on his contract with the Suns. He is scheduled to make $6,500,000 next season, but that number is not fully guaranteed. According to HoopsHype, if Phoenix waives Payne before June 29, 2023, the team would owe him only $2,000,000. If he is still on the team on June 30th, his contract becomes fully guaranteed.