Kevin Durant returns, but Devin Booker rolls ankle as Phoenix Suns fall at Toronto Raptors

TORONTO – Kevin Durant returned – but Devin Booker may be out again.

The Suns got Durant back after he missed two games with right foot soreness, but Booker played through a right ankle injury suffered in the third quarter of Friday’s 112-105 loss to Toronto before Drake and a sellout crowd of 19,800 at Scotiabank Arena to end a seven-game winning streak.

Durant and Booker combined for 13-of-42 shooting Wednesday, going 2-of-12 on 3s.

Booker’s status for Friday’s showdown against the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets is unclear as he wasn’t aggressive after the injury and looked more limited as the game progressed.

Grayson Allen (illness) and Nassir Little (personal) were also out Wednesday, but the Suns were still in the game with under a minute remaining. Booker had a chance to tie it with 50.1 seconds left, but he missed a catch-and-shoot 3 as he wasn’t looking to go off the bounce with the injury.

Then after Dennis Schroder put Toronto up five on a driving layup around 7-footer Jusuf Nurkic, Durant misfired on a 3 with 22.9 seconds left.

Durant ended the night with 30 points on 11-of-30 shooting (2-of-8 from 3) while Booker, who was less aggressive after the injury, went 2-of-12 (0-for-4 from 3) for a season-low eight points.

The Suns (11-7) had two days between Sunday’s win over New York without Durant and Wednesday’s matchup against a Toronto team in the second of a back-to-back after losing Tuesday at Toronto.

The Raptors (9-10) were the aggressors in building a 12-point lead late in the first half.

However Phoenix -- even with Booker hobbled and missing shots as was Durant -- went ahead by two points twice in the third off a Nurkic 3 and a Durant dunk, but fell behind by as many as 11 in the fourth.

Here's what we learned as Nurkic posted 19 points, 14 rebounds and six assists while Eric Gordon and Josh Okogie each scored 10. Okogie got the start in place of Allen.

Scottie Barnes paced the Raptors with 23 points while Pascal Siakam added 22.

Got to save Booker from himself sometimes

Frank Vogel is coaching Devin Booker for the first time.

He’ll learn.

This guy plays through pain.

Regular season. Playoffs. NBA Finals.

The dude is going to tough it out, even after rolling his ankle pretty badly early in the third when landing on Dennis Schroder's foot. He limped out of the game, had that mix between anger and pain look, but returned to the game before the quarter was over.

It’s all hindsight 20/20 now to judge it.

If Booker hits that 3 late and the Suns wind up winning, he’ll be praised for his toughness and Vogel won’t be criticized nearly as much for putting him back out there.

However, sometimes it’s best to save a guy from himself.

That’s how one must coach Booker, who has already missed eight games this season with injuries.

Hard to sit a guy who wants to play as badly as Booker. It’s even harder to do when you’re rolling like the Suns have been.

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They're also down Allen, Little -- and yes, Bradley Beal.

Still, the clear sign for Booker being hurt is if he’s not looking to score or put the ball on the deck. He took just four shots in the second half in 15 minutes.

Now in the heat of the battle, that isn’t an easy decision to make.

Had Toronto been crushing by 20, maybe Vogel pulls Booker knowing the Suns have been on the road for a week and already won the first two games of the road trip.

Injuries happen.

They're part of the game, but how one responds to the injuries is sometimes bigger than the injury itself.

Booker will be back. It's unclear if it’ll be Friday against the defending champions, but it’ll be just Phoenix’s 19^th game.

They have over 60 remaining. They’re playing for something bigger.

Just saying.

Nurkic can get his in response

Teams want to test Nurkic’s defense.

That’s no secret, but not every team has as many guys who can get to the rim with size as the Raptors.

So Nurkic found himself being involved in switches and being called to stay in front of the likes of OG Anunoby, Barnes and Siakam.

Then Schroder got him at the end to give Toronto a 110-105 lead with 24.4 seconds left.

Even Raptors center Jake Poeltl drove it at the Suns 7-footer for a layup, but Nurkic inflicted his share of punishment on Toronto on the other end.

He dunked inside. Drew fouls. Found Durant for a lob finish.

Nurkic has talked about overthinking things and that he needs to just play basketball.

The Suns surely don’t want him giving up layups or baskets, but he’s more than capable of scoring on the other end, especially when one of the Big 3 like Booker was having shooting woes.

Durant returned, Allen remained out

Durant made his return after missing two games with right foot soreness.

Vogel chalked it up as the soreness “calmed down” for Durant to return. He’s only missed two games this season, as he came into Wednesday’s matchup second in the league in scoring at 31.4 points a game and in 3-point shooting percentage at 52.2%.

He shot just 4-of-10 in the first half, but stayed aggressive in the third, and scored 11 of his 30 in the fourth as he had to be aggressive with Booker hobbled. But this was another game when the Suns needed more from the supporting cast to pull this one out.

Vogel was critical of the screening for Durant and Booker, but the Raptors have great size and length to defend those two.

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Toronto didn't run out of gas either on the second of a back-to-back. They played harder, stronger and with more energy for longer runs.

Allen remains out with an illness that sidelined him Sunday at New York. He didn’t practice Tuesday and struggled through a workout Wednesday morning.

“Felt really weak,” Vogel said. “Cardio. Legs. Lungs. All that stuff."

Little went back to Phoenix for the birth of his first child, a baby girl. He’ll rejoin the team for Friday’s matchup against the Nuggets at Footprint Center in Phoenix.

Bradley Beal (back) and Damion Lee (knee) didn’t make the three-game road trip.

Missed Allen, Little

They both came to Phoenix in the three-team deal with Portland and Milwaukee that sent Damian Lillard to the Bucks and Deandre Ayton to the Raptors.

Much of the attention was on Nurkic as he basically replaced Ayton at center.

The “better fit” is how Suns viewed Nurkic in comparison to the younger, more talented Ayton, but Allen has been the best player Phoenix got out of the trade.

He’s averaging career highs in points per game at 11.9 and in 3-point shooting at 47.5%. Between the injuries to Booker and Beal, Allen had started every game until missing Sunday’s win at New York.

Allen and Nurkic are the only Suns players to start the first 16 games.

So, Phoenix not only missed his shooting as it creates more space for Booker and Durant to work, but Allen has been the one constant.

Little has been playing his best basketball with the Suns during the win streak. The scoring has stood out as he reached double figures in four of his last five games, hitting 3-of-6 from 3 at Knicks, but he’s also been a solid defender and made winning plays.

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Diving on the floor. Offensive rebounds. Extra efforts on defense.

The Suns found themselves playing a team that gets after it defensively and has active bodies with size and length.

That’s right up Little’s alley.

The Suns had to dig deeper in the bench with Chimezie Metu, who has had some struggles guarding the four. That was an issue again Wednesday.

No Bol Bol again, too.

He has only played in three games this season and a total of seven minutes; the fewest on the team.

Everybody can’t play, but when considering what the Raptors have and the Suns being down guys, this may have been the game to give him some run.

In-Season Tournament update

The Suns will play the Los Angeles Lakers in the quarterfinals on Dec. 5 in Los Angeles with the winner advancing to the semifinals on Dec. 7 in Las Vegas.

The tournament championship game is Dec. 9 in Vegas.

Being a wildcard, the Suns had to play their quarterfinal game on the road against the top seed in the Western Conference after group play games.

The Lakers and Kings both finished 4-0 in group play, but Los Angeles had a higher point differential than Sacramento.

The Lakers were in the same West Group A as the Suns, beating them 122-119 Nov. 10 in Phoenix. Los Angeles is 2-0 against the Suns this season as Booker didn’t play in either game due to injury.

If Phoenix loses Dec. 5 to the Lakers, it’ll play the Pelicans-Kings quarterfinals loser Dec. 8.

If Sacramento lost, the game would be in Phoenix. If New Orleans lost, it’d host the Suns.

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: Kevin Durant returns, but Devin Booker hurts right ankle as Suns fall