Suns’ Devin Booker exits late in loss against Rockets after stepping on Royce O’Neale’s ankle

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker stepped on Royce O’Neale’s ankle and rolled his own in the process, immediately leaving for the locker room late in a 118-109 loss to the Houston Rockets on Saturday.

Both Booker and O’Neale were visibly shaken up, but O’Neale stayed in for another 10 seconds before Frank Vogel emptied the Suns’ bench.

After the game, the team said Booker and O’Neale suffered ankle sprains, and Booker’s X-rays were negative. O’Neale did not get X-rays.

The Suns’ locker room had a busy night with Jusuf Nurkic exiting earlier in the game after incidental contact with Josh Okogie, leaving Nurkic with a neck sprain.

INJURY: Devin Booker injured his ankle after colliding with Royce O’neale.

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— ML Basketball (@_MLBasketball) March 3, 2024

Bradley Beal made his own trip to the locker room after getting into an altercation with Rockets’ Jalen Green, earning two technical fouls and an early exit.

Booker finished with 24 points, five assists and one steal in his 38 minutes. Kevin Durant led the team with 30 points in addition to his nine rebounds and three blocks.

The Suns trailed by as much as 20 in the first quarter but scraped back to be in position for a comeback win and keep a nine-game home win streak in tact.

Rockets bagged some offensive rebounds late to seal the game, helped by Booker’s early exit. Tossing aside his mix-up with Booker, O’Neale shined off the bench, scoring 20 points and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes.

The Suns have a short turnaround with the second night of a back-to-back facing the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.

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