In his first game back after five contests due to a hamstring injury, Bradley Beal’s time on the court was short-lived last night, as he was ejected with 7:10 remaining in the third quarter following an incident with Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!After feeling he got fouled on a drive to the basket, Beal pumpfaked an inbounds pass right in Green’s face. Green then gave Beal a light nudge with his hand before Beal walked over to him and pushed him. Green retaliated and pushed Beal back, starting a little skirmish.
Crew chief David Guthrie explained after the game in the pool report that Beal was assessed the first technical for taunting Green with the ball. Beal subsequently received another tech for “aggressively shoving Green in an unsportsmanlike manner.”
Green got one technical “for his aggressive shove back at Beal.”
Bradley Beal vs. Jalen Green. 👀
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) March 3, 2024
Beal was one of three Suns’ starters to leave the game early, as Phoenix fell 118-109 and snapped its nine-game home losing streak. Jusuf Nurkić went back to the locker room after an awkward fall in the first half and did not return due to suffering a neck sprain. Devin Booker left with just over a minute to go after spraining his right ankle awkwardly.
Beal, who has now only played in 31 of the Suns (35-25) 60 games this season, finished the night with seven points and two assists in 20 minutes in his return.
Reaction
Suns’ superstar Kevin Durant, who led the Suns with 30 points, did not even notice Beal was ejected from the game.
“I didn’t even know Brad got thrown out until like the fourth quarter,” Durant said. “I just thought he was in the back. I thought somebody else got the tech, I was wondering why they shot a free throw, and we didn’t. It was a quick play to try to move on and and keep out the momentum in our hands. We had momentum at that time, so I think that gave us a little spark too. Even though we miss Brad, it still give us a little spark.”
Coach Frank Vogel came to Beal’s defense on the play.
“He got fouled, they fouled the hell out of him going to the basket,” Vogel said. “I mean, that’s no excuse for Brad to do that. But, call the first foul, all that stuff doesn’t happen.”
The bright side for Beal is that he might be refreshed and ready to go for tonight, as the Suns host the No. 2-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. It is unclear the extent of Booker’s and Nurkić’s injuries, but they did not appear to be something they could play through the very next day.
Stay tuned for more on burncitysports.com.
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
