Suns sweat on Booker injury

Brandon Ingram's rolling, Devin Booker's hurting and the New Orleans Pelicans made it clear that this first-round playoff series will be a fight for the top-seeded Phoenix Suns.

Ingram had a fantastic all-around game with 37 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists to lead the Pelicans over the Suns 125-114 in Game 2 on Tuesday, pulling off the impressive road win to tie the series at 1-all and earn their first postseason victory since 2018.

As the final buzzer sounded, Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr. set the ball down on the court and sprinted off the court into the tunnel with his teammates. Game 3 is on Friday in New Orleans.

"Good win, let's go," Nance said. "Let's go home."

Not only did the Suns lose the game, but they're unsure about the health status of Booker, the All-Star guard who was spectacular in the first half with 31 points before leaving with right hamstring tightness in the third quarter.

The Suns－who led the NBA with a franchise-record 64 wins during the regular season－trailed 77-74 when he departed.

"We've got guys that are more than capable of stepping up," Suns guard Chris Paul said. "Book was killing. He was having a big-time game, but it is what it is."

Phoenix kept the game close without its leading scorer and even took a lead early in the fourth, but the Pelicans rallied, getting big 3s from Jose Alvarado, CJ McCollum and Ingram to take an advantage they wouldn't relinquish. McCollum finished with 23 points.

Ingram added tough back-to-back jumpers in the closing minutes to keep a final Suns rally at bay.

"This is one of his best and it was on a big stage," Pelicans coach Willie Green said. "I'm proud of that young man. He works his tail off, he's a great teammate, high character, high IQ and he put it on display tonight."

Ingram finished 13 of 21 shooting from the field. The Pelicans shot 17 of 30 (57 percent) from 3-point range.

The Suns certainly missed Booker in the final quarter, but spotty defense throughout the evening was a bigger culprit in the loss.

Agencies Via Xinhua