Monday, Devin Booker scored 11 points in 10 minutes, putting him over 17,000 points for his career. Adam Pantozzi / Getty Images
Star guard Devin Booker left Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers with right groin soreness, but it did not slow the Phoenix Suns in a 125-108 win.
Booker scored 11 points in 10 minutes, putting him over 17,000 points for his career. He left in the first half and watched the rest of the game in street clothes. The severity of the injury was not immediately known.
Phoenix (13-9) already is short-handed in the backcourt. Jalen Green, a significant piece in the summer blockbuster trade for Kevin Durant, has missed most of the season with a right hamstring strain. He’s scheduled to be re-evaluated later this month. Grayson Allen also missed Monday night’s game with an illness.
In his 11th season, Booker has been the focal point of a Phoenix rebuild that has gone better than expected. Entering Monday, Booker had produced typical numbers — 25.7 points and 6.9 assists — but had gotten help from nearly everyone around him. Dillon Brooks (21.5 points per game), Allen (17.9), Collin Gillespie (12.7) and Royce O’Neale (11.5) were all scoring at career-best paces.
In Monday night’s win, Brooks scored 33 points, the sixth time in nine games he has led Phoenix in scoring. Gillespie hit a career-high eight 3-pointers for a career-best 28 points. O’Neale had 6 points and seven rebounds and matched a career high with 11 assists. The Suns shot 57 percent and made 17 of 39 from 3-point range. They also had 16 steals.
An extended Booker absence would test the Suns. Not only is he an elite scorer, but he’s also the team’s top playmaker. And he attracts double-teams, which leads to open shots for teammates.
Phoenix is in the middle of a difficult stretch. The Suns next play Friday at the Houston Rockets, which will mark the first time they face Durant since the summer trade. The 15-time All-Star missed last month’s Rockets game in Phoenix because of a personal matter. From there, the Suns visit the Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder before twice squaring off against the Golden State Warriors, the first in Phoenix, the second in San Francisco.
Dec 2, 2025
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