PHOENIX (AP) — Brandon Ingram’s rolling, Devin Booker’s hurting and the New Orleans Pelicans made it clear that this first-round playoff series will be a fight for the top-seeded Phoenix Suns.
Ingram had a fantastic all-around game with 37 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists to lead the Pelicans over the Suns 125-114 in Game 2 on Tuesday, pulling off the impressive road win to tie the series at 1-all and earn their first postseason victory since 2018.
As the final buzzer sounded, Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr. set the ball down on the court and sprinted off the court into the tunnel with his teammates.
Game 3 is on Friday in New Orleans.
“Good win, let’s go,” Nance said. “Let’s go home.”
Not only did the Suns lose the game, but they’re unsure about the health status of Booker, the All-Star guard who was spectacular in the first half with 31 points before leaving with right hamstring tightness in the third quarter.
The Suns — who led the NBA with a franchise-record 64 wins during the regular season — trailed 77-74 when he departed.
There wasn’t much of an update on Booker’s health or if the injury might keep him out beyond Tuesday. Suns guard Chris Paul said the injury was no excuse for the loss.
“We’ve got guys that are more than capable of stepping up,” Paul said. “Book was killing. He was having a big-time game, but it is what it is.”
Phoenix kept the game close without its leading scorer and even took a lead early in the fourth, but the Pelicans rallied, getting big 3s from Jose Alvarado, CJ McCollum and Ingram to take an advantage they wouldn’t relinquish.
“Everything was flowing,” Ingram said. “Everybody was effective on the floor, all five. All five made something happen, whether it was offensively or defensively. We were really connected today.”
McCollum finished with 23 points. Ingram added tough back-to-back jumpers in the closing minutes to keep a final Suns rally at bay.
“This is one of his best and it was…