Bradley Beal avoids serious injuries and is ready to play Suns-Jazz

On By Littum

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(This story has been updated with additional information).

Phoenix Suns Guard Bradley Beal has come out on the healthier side of a scary moment in overtime of Sunday’s loss to the Sacramento Kings, which snapped a seven-game winning streak.

Beal is not on Phoenix’s injury report for Tuesday’s matchup against the Utah Jazz (2-7) to begin a four-game road trip after Kings forward DeMar DeRozan rolled on his left knee after making a basket with 3:44 left in overtime.

“Woke up feeling a lot better than expected,” Beal said after Tuesday’s morning shootaround. “It was a blessing. Nothing structurally wrong. Probably just a bad contusion.”

Beal went down in great pain, but got up and finished the game on the court, scoring a team-high 28 points for Phoenix (8-2).

“I felt like if I could just put some pressure on it, I was good,” Beal said after the game, which has been dealing with a sprained right elbow. “At first I couldn’t. Then when I got up I thought, OK, let me see if I can put some pressure on it. Then one time I could do it. See if I can jump. If I can do it , then I can try to walk.”

The X-rays after the match were negative.

“We definitely dodged a bullet,” Beal said Tuesday. “Any other sport you’re done. I’m just glad we have a good staff, helps me work on my body every day. I put myself in the weird positions where I’m able to get out of it. Luckily it’s nothing more than a bone bruise, maybe a contusion.”

Devin Booker is also not on the injury report, despite battling an illness that left him fatigued throughout Sunday’s game. He scored 23 points but missed a 3 at the end of regulation.

“It’s something, but it should be gone soon,” Booker said after Sunday’s game.

Suns superstar Kevin Durant is out with a left calf strain that will be re-evaluated over the weekend of the 23rd-24th. November based on the schedule. Durant suffered the injury in Friday’s win in Dallas.

Durant did not make the trip to Salt Lake City.

Two-way player Collin Gillespie is also out for an extended period with a fractured right ankle suffered from Phoenix’s G League team, the Valley Suns. He will be re-evaluated in four weeks.

This is Phoenix’s first game in the NBA Cup West Group B.

“I’m excited for the second year,” Beal said. “I feel like the first year, everybody was getting wet, but as you got later into the games, you see the points start to matter, the wins start to matter. The teams are actually starting to compete, get behind it. I like how it’s kind of boosting us in the middle of the season, and you know, we’ve got $500,000 on the line.”

The Suns reached the quarterfinals of the inaugural In-Season Tournament last year before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers, who went on to win the tournament.

Jusuf Nurkic is listed as questionable for Tuesday’s game after he didn’t play in the second half of Sunday’s loss with left ankle soreness.

“He toughed it out a little bit in the first half, but couldn’t go in the second half,” Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said after the game.

After going scoreless on 0-for-4 shooting in 15 minutes of work in the first half, the 7-footer was also listed as questionable for Sunday’s game.

Do you have opinions about the current state of the sun? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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