Suns big Deandre Ayton (rib contusion) out Game 6, Jamal Murray (illness) available

Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton is ruled out for Thursday's elimination Game 6 against the Denver Nuggets with a rib contusion, team officials confirmed a little under two hours before the game

Shams Charania of The Athletic first tweeted the news Thursday.

Sources confirmed later Thursday afternoon to The Arizona Republic that Ayton would be out.

"Midday today," said Suns coach Monty Williams when asked he got word Ayton wouldn't be able to play. "I got the medical report. That was that."

The Suns are starting Jock Landale in place of Ayton and Landry Shamet for Josh Okogie.

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray is listed as available to play and in Denver starting lineup after being questionable with a non-COVID illness.

"I think it's something he's probably been dealing with for a few days," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said during his pregame availability. "A little bug going around the team right now, but I'm thinking he should be good to go tonight."

Malone added that Murray is the only one under the weather right now.

Ayton suffered the injury in the first quarter of Tuesday's Game 5 loss at Denver as he took a knee from a driving Bruce Brown in the paint area with 3:12 remaining in the quarter.

He stayed down for a minute, didn't make his way to the other end of the floor and checked out of the game with 2:50 left in the first.

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Ayton returned to the game with 8:50 left in the second quarter and finished the night with 14 points and nine rebounds in 32 minutes, but had a large white bandage over his lower right rib cage in the locker room after the game.

"I feel good," Ayton said after Game 5. "Everybody thinks it knocked the wind of out of me. It was like a bone-on-bone type of thing where it hurt. I had my breath. It just hurt a little bit where I couldn't even close out (on Michael Porter Jr's 3 on Denver's ensuing possession)."

Ayton said he just needed a "minute or two" to recover.

"This is the playoffs," he continued. "You've got to get up. You got to do something, but I love this man. They did their job at home and we've got to handle ours at home. This is a seven-game series, man. May the best team win."

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Ayton later said he felt like he'd be able to play Game 6 before what will be a sellout crowd of 17,071 at Footprint Center.

"I won't feel this at all," Ayton said. "The adrenaline will definitely carry me, my teammates, knowing we have to step it up. We're going back into the lab and polish up some things. I know for sure we're not going to make the same mistakes twice.

However, Ayton was complaining about pain in his ribs area while leaving the arena.

Williams said after Wednesday's practice Ayton seemed OK, but that Ayton was going to have the injury checked out.

The Suns are also without Chris Paul, who has missed the last three games of this series with a left groin strain.

If Phoenix wins Game 6, there will be a decisive Game 7 Sunday in Denver.

More: Deandre Ayton needs to show heart to save the Phoenix Suns

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

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Ayton (ribs) out Suns-Nuggets Game 6, Jamal Murray (illness) available