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Suns' Devin Booker exits vs. Lakers with left hamstring injury

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker limped to the locker room in the second quarter Sunday vs. the Lakers with a left hamstring injury.

Booker, who missed Friday’s loss to the Magic with a toe injury, was sprinting back on defense with just over two minutes left in the second quarter and grabbed at his left hamstring as he ran out of bounds. Booker immediately went to the Suns’ locker room and didn’t return for the start of the second half.

He finished with six points and did not play the rest of the game, which the Suns lost 120-96.

Booker missed three games in October after straining his left hamstring in the Suns’ first game against the Lakers. He was returning Sunday from a one-game absence due to an injured left toe after stubbing it on his hotel bed during the Suns’ trip to Los Angeles to play the Clippers last Wednesday.

Suns coach Igor Kokoskov had no immediate update on Booker’s condition afterward and said he’s not opposed to shutting down Booker after his string of injuries this season.

“I’m very open (to the idea), but that’s not my jurisdiction when it comes to the medical staff,” Kokoskov told reporters after the game, per Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. “We have a great medical staff. They’re going to tell me as an organization what we should do.

“When he’s available to play, he’ll play. As long as he needs to recover and be ready to play and say ‘Coach, I’m ready to play.’ There’s no in between.”

Booker is averaging 24.5 points, 7.0 assists, and 3.7 rebounds on the season.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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