Devin Booker refused to blame his broken nose for his poor showing and his Phoenix Suns’ 106-92 defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.
Booker wore a mask over his injured nose and only managed 15 points as the Los Angeles Clippers pulled the Western Conference finals series back to 2-1.
The young Phoenix Suns guard struggled from the field, under heavy pressure throughout from Patrick Beverley, shooting at five-from-21.
Booker drained only one from seven three-point attempts while he contributed five assists and five rebounds.
“The nose feels fine,” Booker said. “We just lost the game.”
He added: “The spirit is high. We move on to the next one. That’s the type of team we are.
“We’ve been like that the whole season, so we’ll stick with that.
“We’ll come in tomorrow, go over film, re-group and get ready for Game 4.”
Chris Paul also had limited impact in his return after entering the NBA’s health and safety protocol last week after testing positive to COVID-19.
Paul didn’t fare much better than Booker, shooting five-from-19 from the field, and also managing only 15 points but he added 12 assists.
“I got to be better. I shot terrible,” Paul said. “I’ve got to pick up the pace. We’ll be ready Game 4.”
Game 4 takes place in LA on Saturday.
