The Phoenix Suns were fined $25,000 for not disclosing the status of the injury to Devin Booker heading into Game 6 of the first round against the New Orleans Pelicans in a “precise and timely manner,” the NBA announced Saturday.
Booker suffered a Grade 1 right hamstring sprain in Game 2 against New Orleans after scoring 31 points in the first half.
The All-Star shooting guard was out of the lineup for nine days, missing Games 3, 4 and 5, before returning for Game 6 on Thursday.
Booker had 13 points on 5-for-12 shooting (1-for-6-for-3) in his return, adding five rebounds and three assists in 32 minutes in the win.
“I thought he was fine,” Suns coach Monty Williams said after practice Saturday when asked how Booker’s hamstring held up. “When I talked to him, he was straight with me, like, ‘Coach, I’m fine, I feel strong.’ was cheating at the game, it was just more efficient.
“I hadn’t played in over a week, so that probably had a lot to do with it, but in the second half I thought I saw more of an effort to just play. And we needed that.”
Phoenix, the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, hosts the No. 4-seeded Dallas Mavericks in the conference semifinals beginning in Game 1 on Monday.
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Suns fined for not disclosing Booker’s fitness