Deandre Ayton says Phoenix Suns home crowd will power him through rib injury vs. Nuggets in Game 6

DENVER — Deandre Ayton says he's physically fine following the Phoenix Suns' Western Conference semifinals Game 5 blowout loss at the Denver Nuggets, leaving the Suns down 3-2 in the series.

But he didn't look that way as reporters waited to speak to him. Ayton was visibly hurt as he took several minutes to put on his street clothes.

"I need medication for this," he said, before walking toward the team's medical staff away from his locker.

Ayton had a large white bandage over his lower right rib cage, was bent over and grabbed his knees as he grimaced in pain.

Phoenix's top big was injured when he took a hard hit from to his torso from Denver's sixth man Bruce Brown at 3:14 in the first quarter when Denver led 26-18.

After Ayton ran back on defense after Terrence Ross missed a 3, Brown got an outlet pass and drove toward the paint past Landry Shamet. Ayton came down the middle of the floor and helped to block Brown's penetration then collided with Brown.

After Shamet stripped Brown and saved the loose ball for Phoenix's ensuing possession, Ayton was shaken up and knelt down while holding his ribs to recover. The intense pain flared up so much that he was unable to run back with his team on offense.

“I feel good. It’s just that everybody thinks it knocked the wind out of me," Ayton said. "It was like a bone-on-bone type of thing where it hurt. I had my breath."

Ayton eventually tried to collect himself on Denver's next possession after Shamet's shot was blocked on a drive during the next play.

As Michael Porter Jr. had a two-man pass play with Nikola Jokic down the floor, Ayton could barely run after Porter to put a hand in his face, and Porter nailed his fourth 3 to extend Denver's lead.

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"It just hurt a little bit where I couldn’t even close out. I just needed a minute or two," Ayton said. "But this is the playoffs where you gotta get up (smiles, laughs). You gotta get up and do something. I love this, man."

Jock Landale replaced Ayton at 2:50 left in the opening period, and returned at 8:15 in the second quarter when Phoenix trailed by 11.

Phoenix coach Monty Williams said his team didn't match the physicality from Denver in Game 5, although the play that resulted in Ayton's injury was an exception. Williams said his team's pace was "nullified" by Denver's physical play from the onset in the first quarter and in the third.

Ayton said the raucous home crowd helped put Denver over the top.

“They’re at home, man. It’s a lot of emotions, a lot of adrenaline. The way they played, I expect from them to protect their home," Ayton said.

"It just felt that we left some stuff behind, especially the first (quarter) where the second efforts wasn’t there quite much like previous games.”

Ayton said there are “easy things to fix” for his team in Game 6 at home on Thursday, a point Williams also made.

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He mentioned not letting Denver’s role players produce as much as they did in Game 5. Brown scored his team's second-most 23 points, and Denver's bench outscored Phoenix's second unit 34-26. Aaron Gordon and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope combined for 17 points, 13 rebounds, nine assists, and four blocks. That's besides Jokic's triple-double (game-high 29 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists, two blocks and a steal). Denver's two other top players Jamal Murray and Porter each had 19 points.

“I was battling, and if you will, I lost my battle," Ayton said. "As a team in the physicality, we looked like we were the weaker ones. ...

"They’re at home and they had their hands on a little more than us, and that’s something I can fix as well. It’s gonna be vice versa, the same way when we go back to the Valley.”

Now on the brink of elimination, Ayton expects that physicality to be returned by the Suns, and he's looking for a boost from the Phoenix home crowd to help him play through his rib injury in Game 6.

“I won’t feel this at all. The adrenaline will definitely carry me," Ayton said. “We’re very confident. At the end of the day, our fans are gonna make sure that we do the right thing and just make sure that we handle business at home.”

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Deandre Ayton says Phoenix Suns home crowd will power him through injury in Game 6