NBA fines Suns $25,000 over injury-reporting of Devin Booker

THE Phoenix Suns were fined $25,000 by the National Basketball Association (NBA) on Saturday after violating the league’s injury-reporting guidelines over Devin Booker’s status ahead of Game 6 against New Orleans on Thursday. The league ruled that Phoenix did not reveal Booker’s playing status “in an accurate and timely manner” before he returned to action in the Suns’ first-round series-clinching win over the Pelicans. Booker, who missed the series’ previous three games after suffering a Grade 1 hamstring strain in Game 2, had been upgraded to questionable earlier in the day on Thursday. After testing the leg during pregame warm-ups, the All-Star guard started and played 32 minutes, scoring 13 points in the 115-109 Phoenix victory. The 25-year-old Booker averaged 26.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists in the regular season in making his third straight All-Star Game appearance. The Suns begin their second-round series at home on Monday in Game 1 against the Dallas Mavericks. — Reuters