Suns center Jusuf Nurkic out vs. Kings after starting despite ankle injury

Jusuf Nurkic was ruled out of the second half of the Phoenix Suns’ game against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday with a left ankle injury.

The center was listed as questionable with left ankle soreness ahead of the game, but he started despite the ailment, after Suns sideline reporter Amanda Pflugrad reported Nurkic would test the ankle pregame and decide whether to play then.

He totaled seven rebounds and a steal while going 0-for-4 from the field in 15 first-half minutes.

Mason Plumlee started the second half in place of Nurkic, after Plumlee had replaced the starter with about two minutes remaining in the first half.

Plumlee had eight rebounds and four assists in his nine first-half minutes.

After his season got off to a rough start with poor shooting and high turnover rates, Nurkic had begun again to make a positive impact, with double-digit rebounds in four straight games after one in the previous five.

If Nurkic has to miss extended time, rookie Oso Ighodaro stands to get more minutes, after his last minutes came on Oct. 31. He got in during the third quarter and quickly made an impact with a dunk through contact.

O-SO POWERFUL 😤 pic.twitter.com/HqyYQ5vJcu

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) November 11, 2024

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