Poor start, Devin Booker's injury, Bradley Beal's ejection: Takeaways from Suns' loss to Rockets

The Phoenix Suns have the toughest remaining NBA schedule already.

They can’t afford losses like the one Saturday to the Houston Rockets, 118-109, when trying to earn homecourt advantage in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

Phoenix (35-25) is now sixth in the Western Conference after falling to a team it just beat Thursday night at Footprint Center. The Suns now face the Oklahoma City Thunder (41-18), who are second in the West, in the second of a home back-to-back Sunday with a strong possibility of not having Devin Booker for the much-anticipated matchup.

The four-time All-Star suffered a right ankle injury after rolling it when he stepped on teammate Royce O’Neale’s left ankle trying to guard Rockets guard Fred VanVleet up top. The X-rays on Booker’s ankle were negative, but he immediately limped off the court in pain after injuring his ankle.

O’Neale injured his ankle on the play, but said the injury was OK as he didn’t undergo an X-ray.

Suns big Jusuf Nurkic suffered a neck sprain when teammate Josh Okogie inadvertently hit him in the face trying to block a shot in the lane. The 7-footer was tested for a concussion, but Vogel said he only had a neck sprain.

If that wasn’t enough, Bradley Beal was ejected in the third quarter after an exchange with Jalen Green. Beal was dealt two technical fouls after the play was reviewed while Green received one and stayed in the game.

Here are several takeaways from Saturday’s loss as Phoenix and Houston (26-34) split their four matchups in the regular season. Green paced the Rockets with a game-high 34 points to match what he scored in Thursday’s 110-105 loss to the Suns at Footprint Center.

Inexplicably slow start for the Suns

They had multiple reasons to come out charged and ready to go.

One, Beal returned after missing five games with a left hamstring injury.

Two, Amar’e Stoudemire was having his jersey retirement ceremony at halftime.

Three, the Suns had just avenged last week’s loss to Houston with Thursday’s victory.

Four, they had a nine-game home winning streak going.

Then Phoenix comes out and gets outscored 38-19 in the first quarter just 48 hours after a fast start on the Rockets in Thursday’s win. The Suns blitzed the Rockets, 33-17, in the first quarter of that victory.

Wild.

Turnovers remain a problem

Having Beal back didn’t prevent the Suns from committing 19 turnovers that resulted in 19 Houston points.

Kevin Durant led the Suns with 30 points, but he turned the ball over a game-high six times while Booker finished with 24 points, but had five turnovers.

It’s games like this when those voices resurface about Phoenix needing a point guard.

The Suns wanted to run this season, but they are 15^th in the NBA in pace. Not bad, but they don’t have one guy who can consistently create tempo.

This whole idea of having multiple ball handlers is hit or miss. Take Grayson Allen for example.

The Suns come out of a timeout in the fourth quarter down seven with 4:46 left. This is still a winnable game, as Phoenix was just within one to two minutes earlier.

Allen is asked to bring the ball up while Durant and Booker are on the opposite end of the court. Green picks up Allen, who is a decent ball handler, but not great.

Getting it across halfcourt, Allen looked to find Durant under Green’s pressure and turned the ball over. Booker fouled Green, who hit two free throws to put Houston up nine.

Allen brought the ball up again, but this time, Booker looked to set a screen to get Green off him and was called for an offensive foul. The Suns challenged the call, didn’t win it and Rockets big Alperen Sengun scored on the ensuing possession to extend Houston’s lead to 11 for the Rockets with four minutes left.

Booker followed that up with a turnover. Energy out the building.

Now, the game wasn’t lost on that sequence, but it further damaged Phoenix’s chances to come back. Either the stars have to take better care of the ball or they need to pick up the pace to play more in transition so there are fewer bodies to face.

Beal ejection, O’Neale importance

The Suns are easing Beal back into it as he finished with just seven points on 3-of-6 shooting. They still were without Eric Gordon (left groin soreness) and Nassir Little (left knee inflammation).

They could’ve definitely used Gordon when Beal went out, but O’Neale gives the Suns something they hadn’t had off the bench – a perimeter player who can score, defend and rebound.

He’s the ideal player for a small ball lineup as the Suns went to it in their 3-2 zone with Thaddeus Young at the five. O’Neale finished with 20 points, connecting on 4-of-8 from 3, and 11 rebounds to mark the second time he’s already had a 20 and 10 game with the Suns.

Beal will round into shape and shake off the rust with the hope he stays healthy, but curious to see who Vogel goes to in a small ball lineup between Allen, Gordon, Beal and O’Neale.

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: Poor start, Beal ejection, Booker injury part of Suns' loss to Rockets