Suns’ G Jalen Green on experience recovering from injury before debut
Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Green explains what it was like to deal with and recover from injury. Green returned and made his Suns debut on Nov. 6, 2025.
INGLEWOOD – The Phoenix Suns notched their first road win of the season, defeating the Los Angeles Clippers for the second time in three days, 114-103, Nov. 8, before a sellout crowd of 18,961 at Intuit Dome.
They unfortunately lost Jalen Green once again to injury.
Playing his second game after missing the team’s first eight with a right hamstring strain, Green reinjured it late in the first quarter and didn’t return.
“That’s tough,” Suns teammate Dillon Brooks said. “Injuries suck.”
The Suns (5-5) have been dealing with injuries early this season as Brooks returned Saturday after sitting out six games with a core muscle strain.
Center Mark Williams has been playing on a minute restriction largely based on his injury history.
Green was on a minute restriction in his Suns debut Thursday against the Clippers in Phoenix and Brooks had only played three games before going down.
As hard as the Suns took Green’s latest setback, which likely means he will miss multiple games, they aren’t feeling sorry for themselves.
“This team will have no excuses,” Suns first-year head coach Jordan Ott said. “We lace them up, go out and play.”
The Suns led by as many as 18 points against the Clippers (3-6), who lost their fourth straight game and were without Kawhi Leonard for a third straight game due to a right ankle sprain.
“We were able to get 1 or 2 more stops while continuing to move the scoreboard. Great game. Tough environment on the road. Good win.”
Jordan Ott after Suns 114-103 win over Clippers. Phoenix 4-1 in last five games.
On Jalen Green reinjuring right hamstring: “You just feel for… pic.twitter.com/Su4zxb732F
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) November 9, 2025
Devin Booker paced Phoenix with a near triple-double of 21 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists along with five turnovers. Six Suns reached double figures in points with Williams delivering 19, Brooks going for 16, Grayson Allen adding 14, Collin Gillespie 13 and Royce O’Neale 12.
Ivica Zubac posted a double-double of 21 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Clippers, but the Suns got the better of them on the glass. Phoenix outrebounded Los Angeles, 42-27, grabbing 13 offensive rebounds that led to 20 points.
Phoenix next will face the New Orleans Pelicans at home on Nov. 10.
Here are some additional takeaways from Saturday’s game against the Clippers.
Living well by the 3
The Suns have responded to losing four straight games in a 1-5 start by winning four of their last five games. They’ve shot 41.3% on 3s during this most recent five-game stretch, going 16-of-38 from deep Saturday night.
Allen, O’Neale and Gillespie each hit four in Saturday’s game, while Jordan Goodwin and Brooks nailed two each. The Suns were 6-of-10 on 3s in the fourth quarter to sap energy out of the Clippers’ comeback attempts.
Los Angeles trailed by five with 5:12 left before Brooks and O’Neale hit back-to-back 3s. Then O’Neale nailed the dagger shot off a Brooks assist that took a joyride around the rim before dropping through to give Phoenix a 112-101 lead with 1:40 remaining.
Defensive improvement
The Suns are ninth in defensive rating during their 4-1 run, a major improvement from 28th during their 1-4 start.
The Clippers shot just 10-of-33 from 3 in Saturday’s game.
Phoenix is still having some miscommunications and lapses on defense, but has been more solid as a unit and isn’t giving up nearly as many freebies, either.
The Suns were next to last in points allowed off turnovers at 23.5 a game in their 1-4 start.
In their next five games, they’ve been 19th in giving up 19.6 points off turnovers.
To put that number in perspective, the Clippers scored 24 off 18 Phoenix turnovers in their 129-102 rout of the Suns on Oct. 24 in Inglewood. On Saturday, Los Angeles had 18 points off 14 Phoenix turnovers.
“We played hard. We played hard the entire game.”
Devin Booker after Suns 114-103 win over Clippers.
On Jalen Green reinjuring hamstring: “It’s tough. I’ve definitely been through it. We’re going to rally around him.”
On his defense: “If you’re not watching, then you’re just… pic.twitter.com/rGpXF9IiTl
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) November 9, 2025Second unit huge without Booker
Ott resisted the temptation to play Booker extended minutes by sitting him down during a time when the Clippers trailed by only five, 81-76, with 1:30 remaining in the third quarter. The Suns maintained that lead, 85-80, entering the fourth after Ott put Booker and Williams back in the game with nine seconds left in the third.
He sat Booker and Williams again and put the same five that essentially closed the third back out there in Ryan Dunn, Nick Richards, Goodwin and Gillespie, along with Allen, the only starter.
The Suns not only maintained the lead, but went up by as many as 13 points before leading by 11 when Booker checked back into the game along with O’Neale and Williams for Richards, Allen and Goodwin with 7:41 remaining.
Allen nailed back-to-back 3s to put Phoenix up 11 early in the fourth, forcing Clippers coach Ty Lue to call a timeout and pumping up Booker, who was the first coming off the bench to greet his teammates.
That may have been the game’s most important stretch and shows the trust Ott has in his depth.
Jalen Green out again
Green has gone from playing every game in each of his last two seasons with the Houston Rockets to playing only one game and a quarter with his new team through 10 games. The Suns acquired Green, Brooks and the 10 overall pick in the 2025 draft, 7-footer Khamam Maluach, from the Rockets in the Kevin Durant trade.
Green showed in his season debut his dynamic talent in scoring a game-high 29 points in the Nov. 6 win over the Clippers. He started Saturday’s matchup 1-of-3 for two points.
He was looking to find Dunn for a corner 3 and after the pass, Green immediately started hobbling towards the corner of the Suns’ bench and grabbing at his hamstring.
Everyone knew what it was and that it wasn’t good.
Green was helped off the court by two Suns staff members with 22.3 seconds left in the first quarter and never returned. O’Neale said Green was in good spirits, but this was clearly a huge blow to the momentum of being healthy for the first time this season.
However, the Suns kept churning and took a 14-point halftime lead.
“Feel like I was myself.”
Dillon Brooks on return after missing 6 games with core muscle strain.
On Jalen Green hamstring reinjury: “It’s tough. Injuries suck.”
On 3 to give Suns 101-93 lead with 5:29 left in game: “That was an and-1. The DB rule. They didn’t call it. I don’t… pic.twitter.com/21X7U8mxBG
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) November 9, 2025Booker ‘vibing’ with this
Booker wasn’t feeling an offensive foul that was called on him after a successful coach’s challenge by Lue in the third. He was whistled for extending his arm that caught Derrick Jones Jr., who went down.
Where’s the respect?
“I watched it happen every night,” Booker said. “People shoot free throws on that play all the time.”
Booker is in his 11th season, is one of the game’s best players, but stuff like that still has him miffed.
He’s no longer playing for a championship contender, but Booker is the leader of this young, competitive team, which is one of the early surprises of this season.
“We play hard, and I’m vibing with it,” Booker said.
Tougher challenges await them. Playing every other day has been wild. All good. Booker and the Suns aren’t making excuses, so far.
That alone explains why they’ve won four of their last five after losing four of their first five.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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