PHOENIX SUNS

Devin Booker expected to return from groin injury for Suns-Nets

Feb 6, 2023, 12:12 PM
Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker cheers on his teammates during the second half of an NBA basketball...

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker cheers on his teammates during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

(AP Photo/Matt York)

Devin Booker is expected to return to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday against the Brooklyn Nets after missing 21 games due to a groin injury, head coach Monty Williams told reporters, per AZCentral.com’s Duane Rankin.

Booker last played four minutes in the Christmas Night matchup in Denver before exiting with a left groin strain.

An evaluation determined he would miss at least a month from that game. After an evaluation last week, Phoenix said it would wait another week for a reevaluation of his groin issue.

Booker entered the game against the Nuggets on Dec. 25 after being listed with groin soreness that kept him out of the three games prior. Booker had also dealt with a hamstring issue that knocked him out of two games in mid-December. He returned from that injury for two games before the groin issue sidelined him.

This season in 29 games, he is averaging a career-high 27.1 points.

Booker scored 58 in his last full game, a Dec. 17 win against the New Orleans Pelicans in which he played 42 minutes and the entire second half.

Phoenix started the month of December with a 15-6 record but has gone 14-20 since, falling into a busy middle of the pack in the Western Conference playoff race.

The Suns, however, have won eight of their last 10 games leading into Booker’s expected return on Tuesday, where Phoenix will be featured against a Brooklyn team that has reportedly agreed to trade All-Star Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks.

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