Devin Booker got hurt on Saturday night while playing for the Phoenix Suns against the Houston Rockets. He sprained his right ankle during the game, which the Suns ended up losing 118-109.
After the game, Suns coach Frank Vogel said that X-rays showed no major damage to Booker’s ankle. He didn’t rule out Booker from playing in the next game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday. Vogel mentioned that they would have to see how Booker’s ankle felt overnight before making a decision.
Booker hurt his ankle with about a minute left in the game when he accidentally got tangled up with his teammate Royce O’Neale. Despite scoring 24 points, Booker had to limp off the court and head toward the locker room.
O’Neale also injured his right ankle during the same play, but Vogel said it wasn’t as serious as Booker’s injury. O’Neale didn’t need X-rays because his injury didn’t seem as worrying.
The Suns faced another setback when their center, Jusuf Nurkic, sprained his neck in the second quarter. He was also checked for a concussion but was cleared to continue playing. Nurkic was accidentally hit by his teammate Josh Okogie during the game.
Adding to the Suns’ troubles, their guard Bradley Beal got ejected from the game. Beal had just returned to the lineup after missing five games due to a hamstring injury. He got two technical fouls quickly and had to leave the game early.
Despite these setbacks, the Suns couldn’t stop the Rockets from scoring. Jalen Green led the Rockets with 34 points, and Fred VanVleet added 24 points. On the Suns’ side, Kevin Durant scored 30 points, and Royce O’Neale contributed 20 points.
After the game, Vogel praised his team’s effort but acknowledged that it wasn’t enough to win. The Rockets had control of the game for most of the time, although the Suns managed to cut the lead to just one point in the fourth quarter. However, the Rockets pulled away again and secured the win.
Rockets coach Ime Udoka was pleased with his team’s performance, especially compared to their previous game. He mentioned that the team showed a lot of fight and physicality right from the start, which helped them take control of the game early on.
The Suns had beaten the Rockets in their previous matchup, but this time, the Rockets got their revenge with a convincing win.
