Devin Booker explains why he removed mask during Game 4

Devin Booker ditched his mask for nearly half of Game 4 on Saturday and later explained why.

Booker was upset after missing a layup in the third quarter and took off the mask, which he had been using to protect his nose that was broken in Game 2. He went just 8-for-22 in the game and scored 25 points in Phoenix’s 84-80 win over the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference finals.

So what was Booker’s rationale for removing the protection?

“I can get surgery any time if it gets hit again,” Booker said in an interview with ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt. “But in the Western Conference finals and making it to the (NBA) Finals, those opportunities don’t come and go, so I don’t take ’em lightly. I’ve never played with a mask. I’m not blaming it on the mask, but 24 years of my life, I’ve never felt that.”

Even if he was uncomfortable wearing the mask in Game 4, Booker told Van Pelt he would probably put it back on to start Game 5.

The Suns now lead the series 3-1, but they know it’s not over yet.