Bradley Beal’s comeback didn’t go quite as, he, or the Phoenix Suns, may have envisioned. Not only did the Suns lose to the Houston Rockets by 109-118, but Bradley Beal was ejected from the game after an altercation with Rockets’ Jalen Green. In the post-game press conference, however, Phoenix head coach Frank Vogel came to Beal’s defense while criticizing the referees. Coach Vogel stated, “They fouled the h-ll out of him going to the basket. That’s no excuse for Bradley to do that, but if you call the first foul, that stuff doesn’t happen.” Vogel’s words seemed to hint that the match officials take the blame for what happened.

Even though, Coach Vogel started the conversation by acknowledging the twisted series of events that occurred and remarked, “Two different acts for two different technicals…One hit, you know using the ball to hit Jalen in the face or in the head and after that action you know the elbow or push or whatever that was was a second tech.” The return of Bradley Beal from his hamstring injury finally saw Phoenix’s Big Three make a comeback on the court. However, not only was he sent back without blooming, but his absence cost the Suns a near-victory.

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The sunset after the departure of Bradley Beal

The Jalen Green incident occurred with seven minutes remaining in the third quarter when the Suns trailed by 15 points. Bradley Beal exchanged words with Green (who led Houston with 26 points at the time) before shoving him by the throat. This resulted in Beal’s second technical foul and an ejection from the court.

Because of this, Bradley Beal could just add a measly 7 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists on the board. The Suns struggled with their offense in the third quarter and were outscored 38-19 by Houston. After falling behind by 20 points early in the 2nd quarter, the Suns outscored Houston 25-5 to close the gap to 4 points.

However, the removal of Bradley Beal struck down the momentum of the Suns. Phoenix fell short, despite NBA veteran Kevin Durant leading the team with 30 points, and 9 rebounds. Devin Booker also bagged 24 points before making an early exit because of a sprained ankle in the last few minutes of the game. Fortunately, HC Vogel stated that the X-ray report of Booker’s ankle didn’t show any problems.

With the dark clouds of player injuries hanging over them, the 6th-seed in the Western Conference will now face a major challenge against the second-seeded Oklahoma City Thunders. Will the injured Suns rise to the occasion, or will it be a walk in the park for OKC? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

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