Phoenix Suns will have Devin Booker this time vs. Lakers in NBA In-Season Tournament quarterfinals

Devin Booker watched the Los Angeles Lakers rally in the fourth quarter to take down the Phoenix Suns twice this season without having a say in the outcome.

He missed the Oct. 26 tilt in Los Angeles with a left ankle sprain suffered in the opener at Golden State and the Nov. 10 NBA In-Season Tournament Western Conference Group A game with a right calf strain.

The Suns lost both games by a total of eight points.

Booker just returned from a right ankle sprain that sidelined him two games and posted 34 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in leading the Suns to a 116-109 victory Saturday over Memphis.

Feeling good and having a career year, Booker will be available this time when Phoenix plays the top-seeded Lakers (12-9) in the In-Season Tournament quarterfinal game Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

“Missing any game is tough, I’m excited for this one,” Booker said after Saturday’s home win as he averaged 27.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 8.4 assists.

“I know they’re playing well as of now. They’re back healthy. They have their roster back. It’ll be a heavyweight match in L.A. A lot on the line. Winner goes to Vegas. I think everyone is looking forward to it. It should be fun.”

After Monday's practice, Suns coach Frank Vogel said Booker, experienced "minimal soreness" and "should be good to go" Tuesday. Phoenix didn't practice Sunday following a back-to-back.

Booker wasn't listed on the Suns injury report as they are 9-2 with him in the lineup.

So yep, he’ll have a say in the latest Suns-Lakers showdown in the final quarterfinal matchup.

“I know he’s looking forward to it,” Suns wing Josh Okogie said about Booker. “The most important thing is we got to come out of it with a win, however we got to do it.”

The Pacers advanced to the Dec. 7 semifinals at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with Monday's 122-112 home victory over Boston.

Indiana will play Tuesday's Knicks-Bucks winner. The top-seeded Bucks are hosting the wildcard Knicks.

The tournament championship game is Dec. 9 in Vegas. Each player on the championship team will receive $500,000.

“We had to do some logistics with travel, but excited to be in it,” Suns coach Frank Vogel said. “Excited to have a chance. We want to win that cup.”

If Phoenix loses once again to the Lakers, it’ll play Dec. 8 at home against Sacramento.

New Orleans won Monday at Sacramento, 127-117.

Phoenix would be hosting the Lakers had they beaten them last month at Footprint Center.

The Suns instead squandered an 11-point lead late in the third quarter of a 122-119 group play loss. The Lakers cooked Phoenix with 60% shooting in the fourth quarter, hitting 5-of-11 from 3.

Cam Reddish cashed a trio of 3s in the fourth for the Lakers in a 17-point effort.

This was one of three games Phoenix has had Bradley Beal, who is entering the third week of rehabbing his low back strain before receiving a scheduled re-evaluation this week.

Beal scored 20 of his 24 points in the first half in what has proven to be his best output with the Suns.

Phoenix also lost a second-half, double-digit advantage against the Lakers in Los Angeles.

The Suns were up 84-72 after three quarters, but they shot just 5-of-20 in the fourth, missing seven of their eight 3-point attempts. They scored just 11 points in the fourth of a 100-95 defeat.

The common denominator in both losses was Kevin Durant having to carry the Suns offense.

Durant scored 39 of Phoenix's 95 points on Oct. 26 on 14-of-28 shooting. The rest of the Suns connected on just 20-of-53 for 37.7% shooting.

A month later, Durant scored 38 with nine coming in the fourth on 3-of-5 shooting.

The remaining Suns who played shot 6-of-15 in the quarter.

With Booker back, Durant won’t have to shoulder the offense this time against the Lakers, who are ninth in the league in defensive rating.

“Just another guy defense has to pay attention to,” Durant said. "With him, he just opens the floor up, he attacks, makes the right play and he scores the ball at a high rate. That’s what you want from your star players, be able to create for himself and others, that’s what he does.”

Tuesday will also mark another marquee matchup between LeBron James and Durant.

The two went from having not played against each other since Christmas 2018 to battling for the third time in a regular season.

They also met in a preseason game in Palm Springs, California.

“I’ve been knowing Bron for 20 years,” Durant said. “I know little tricks of the trade and vice versa. He knows little tricks of the trade. So you’re going to use those to your advantage just because you know these players, you know this person. You kind of know what they’re thinking.”

James is listed as questionable with a left calf contusion.

Los Angeles finished group play 4-0 and won the point differential tiebreaker over Sacramento to claim the West top seed while Phoenix landed the wild card which goes to a team from each conference with the best record in group play games that finished second in its group.

The Suns took the point differential tiebreaker over Minnesota, which went 3-1 in West Group C behind Sacramento.

Phoenix punched out a plus-34.

The Timberwolves finished even at 0.

This has all led to the Suns meeting the Lakers again with a trip to Vegas on the line – and with Booker being able to finally have a say in the outcome.

“We’re pretty familiar with this team,” Durant said. “They’ve played under the same circumstances as us, missing guys out the lineup, haven’t seen their full team yet, but still standing afloat. It should be a fun one.”

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: Suns will have Devin Booker for In-Season Tournament game at Lakers