Bradley Beal to miss 4th straight game with hamstring injury as Phoenix Suns face Los Angeles Lakers

Phoenix Suns star guard Bradley Beal is ruled out a fourth straight game with a left hamstring injury for Sunday’s showdown against the Los Angeles Lakers at Footprint Center.

Jusuf Nurkic will be available after sitting out Friday’s loss at Houston with a right ankle sprain. Nurkic suffered the injury in Wednesday’s practice, but the 7-footer played through it in Thursday’s loss at Dallas.

Eric Gordon is out for Sunday’s game with left groin soreness after scoring just five points on 2-of-8 shooting Friday in starting for Beal. Royce O'Neale will get the start Sunday for Beal.

Beal suffered the hamstring injury Feb. 13 against Sacramento and didn’t play in the following game against Detroit on Valentine’s Day going into the NBA All-Star break. He received treatment on the hamstring during the break as well as having a procedure done on his nose after having it broken last month against the Pacers in Indianapolis.

The three-time All-Star played his last nine games with a mask and will continue to wear one once he returns to action. Beal has missed 27 games in his first season with the Suns (33-24), who are eighth in the West. He was listed as questionable for Thursday’s game, but Suns coach Frank Vogel said the team felt he wasn’t quite ready to play.

Vogel also said it was “unlikely” Beal would play Friday. Beal was listed a doubtful for that game, sat out, but went through a lengthy pregame workout in Houston that consisted of running, shooting and resistance work.

The Suns do have three days between Sunday’s game against the Lakers and a third matchup versus the Rockets on Thursday at home. That gives Beal even more time to return from the injury.

Damion Lee is also listed out Sunday. He hasn’t played all season with a knee injury.

As for the Lakers, LeBron James (left ankle; peroneal tendinopathy) and Anthony Davis (bilateral Achilles; tendinopathy, left hip spasm) are listed as questionable for Sunday as is Cam Reddish (right ankle sprain).

Jarred Vanderbilt (right mid-foot sprain), Christian Wood (left knee effusion) and Gabe Vincent (left knee surgery) are each ruled out. The Lakers (31-27) are ninth in the West.

If the playoffs started today, Phoenix and Los Angeles would have to climb out of the play-in to make the postseason this year.

Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Bradley Beal out again with hamstring injury for Suns-Lakers game