Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker left Thursday night’s 121-94 loss to the San Antonio Spurs in the second quarter with right hip soreness and was ruled out for the rest of the game.
Suns head coach Jordan Ott told reporters that Booker ‘wasn’t moving great’ and the decision to sit him was made to ‘save himself from himself,’ per the Arizona Republic’s Duane Rankin.
Booker initially subbed out and went into the locker room with 5:24 left in the first quarter. He checked back in with 4:46 left in the second but then exited again two minutes later and returned to the locker room. His final stat-line for the night was five points and a rebound, shooting two-for-six from the floor in just nine minutes played.
An All-Star for the fifth time this season, Booker has caught the injury bug recently. He missed seven straight games with a sprained ankle that he originally suffered on Jan. 23 against the Atlanta Hawks. He returned to the Suns lineup on Feb. 7 and played in their next game on Feb. 11 before sitting out the team’s final game before the All-Star break against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
At All-Star Weekend, Booker participated in the three-point contest and was part of the USA Stars team, winning the first edition of the new USA vs. the World format All-Star Game.
The Suns are currently the seventh seed in the West, two games behind the Minnesota Timberwolves for sixth.