Perhaps the most highly-anticipated regular season game to this point of the NBA’s regular season took place on Tuesday evening in Phoenix, but it didn’t take long for a damper to be thrown on the occasion. During the second quarter in the Phoenix Suns‘ showdown with the Golden State Warriors, the team announced that standout guard Devin Booker would have to leave due to a hamstring injury.
Injury Update: Devin Booker (left hamstring) will not return
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) December 1, 2021
Booker left the game at the 5:59 mark of the second quarter and was ruled out shortly after. At the time he exited the game, Booker had 10 points on 4-for-9 shooting with two rebounds in 15 minutes of work, and the Suns trailed by five. They would go on to take a two-point lead into halftime.
The game pits the two best teams in the league against one another. While the Warriors possess the best record in the NBA, sitting 18-2 and winners of their last seven games, the Suns have been scorching since starting the season 1-3. Phoenix are winners of their last 16 games in a row, with Booker unsurprisingly performing at a high level. One of the lynchpins of the team’s run to the NBA Finals, Booker is averaging 23.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.7 assists in 33.1 minutes per game.