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Devin Booker had another stellar performance after the season on Tuesday. He scored 31 points in 25 minutes, and at one point even intervened in the playground. With Phoenix leading the No. 8 New Orleans Pelicans, the Suns looked set to take a 2-0 lead in the series.
But in the third quarter Booker returned to the locker room with a visible injury. Suns coach Monty Williams later revealed that Booker was dealing with a hamstring problem that fixed him for most of the second half. The Suns, who are much preferred at home, lost game 2 to the Pelicans, 125-114, and were tied in their series in one game.
Booker is expected to undergo treatment and tests on Wednesday to determine the severity of the injury.
“We’ll have more information tomorrow,” Suns coach Monty Williams said after Game 2. We played without Chris [Paul] and Book before. If we have to play without Book, the next person. We’ve been doing this all year. “
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Now the series will move to New Orleans and while the Suns will remain favorites with or without Booker, the pressure is suddenly on Phoenix. They no longer have a home advantage in the series, and although they had an 8-3 record in the 11 games they played without Booker before winning No. 1, the playoff games are a different matter altogether. Seven of those missed matches were due to a hamstring injury that Booker suffered in November, and while it’s not clear how serious he is, he left it out for just under three weeks. Generating an attack without your goal scorer is a much higher order when teams have played with you several times in a short period of time.
All the Suns can hope for so far is a positive outlook for Booker’s thigh. The hamstring can be a non-permanent part of the body when it comes to injuries, as Booker’s teammate Chris Paul is well aware. The Suns may be able to escape the first round without Booker, but they need him if they plan to return to the NBA Finals.
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