Phoenix Suns’ Dillon Brooks not bowing down to LeBron
Dillon Brooks discusses his on-going back-and-forth with LeBron, including their game vs. Lakers on Dec. 1.
Phoenix Suns coach Jordan Ott praised Devin Booker for returning to the bench in the second half after suffering a right groin injury in the first quarter of a 125-108 victory Dec. 1 over the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena.
“That doesn’t happen every place, that doesn’t happen with every superstar,” Ott said.
Booker will be re-evaluated in a week, the team announced Dec. 3. The Suns have taken two days off after playing their last seven games in a span of 11 days.
Phoenix (12-9) has had four back-to-backs and played 22 games in 41 days.
Booker is averaging 25 points and 6.7 assists in his 11th NBA season.
The Suns continue their four-game road stretch Dec. 5 against the Houston Rockets.
They face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Dec. 8 and battle the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Dec. 10 in the NBA Cup quarterfinals.
Based on the injury timetable the Suns provided, Booker will miss Phoenix’s next three games.
Ott said after Monday’s game, he believes Booker suffered the injury on his drive and finish over Lakers’ backup big Jaxson Hayes to pull Phoenix within two points, 19-17, with 4:29 left in the first.
“He fell and I don’t think it was right away,” Ott said. “He mentioned it might have been a couple of plays after. You could obviously see him trying to stretch it. At that point, we kind of know where these things are headed.”
Booker played another two minutes and 24 seconds before checking out of the game with 2:05 left in the first half during a Phoenix timeout.
From Monday:
“First off, they’re on a back-to-back. We just went through it. It’s just tough. Those back-to-backs are tough. Our overall competitiveness, our togetherness, our leadership.”
Jordan Ott after Suns 128-108 win over Lakers as they led by as many as 25 points after… pic.twitter.com/iz9VFVUeoh
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) December 2, 2025
He had an assist on a Jordan Goodwin 16-foot jumper, hit a 3 and committed an offensive foul during that stretch. Booker posted 11 points and three assists in that first quarter.
Lakers’ superstar LeBron James checked on Booker during the fourth quarter when Booker returned to the bench. His dad, Melvin Booker, also visited with him late in the game.
Booker has had a history of groin injuries.
He missed five total games last season after straining his left groin in the third quarter of a 120-111 home loss Dec. 19, 2024, against the Indiana Pacers.
Booker sat out three games with groin soreness in 2022-23 after his epic 58-point performance in leading Phoenix past the New Orleans Pelicans, 118-114, Dec. 17, 2022.
He returned for a Christmas game against the Denver Nuggets and strained his left groin within the first five minutes of the first quarter of a 128-125 overtime road loss.
The injury sidelined Booker for 21 games.
He returned Feb. 7, 2023, against the Brooklyn Nets during a five-game road trip. The Suns won, 116-112, as Booker scored 19 points in 26 minutes.
Booker sat out the next game, Feb. 9, 2023, at the Atlanta Hawks. Phoenix lost, 116-107. This was after the Suns pulled off their blockbuster deal to land Kevin Durant right before the 2023 trade deadline.
Phoenix dealt Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and four first-round picks to the Nets for TJ Warren and Durant.
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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