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    • Suns’ Bradley Beal out, rookie Ryan Dunn starts against Clippers
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    Suns’ Bradley Beal out, rookie Ryan Dunn starts against Clippers

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    INGLEWOOD – Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal has been ruled out of Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Intuit Dome due to a sprained right elbow.

    Rookie Ryan Dunn gets his second career start as he started for the injured Beal against Dallas.

    Beal took part in an optional shootaround at UCLA on Thursday morning along with Jusuf Nurkic, Tyus Jones, Damion Lee, Ryan Dunn, Oso Ighodaro, Collin Gillespie, Mason Plumlee, Monte Morris, Bol Bol and Josh Okogie.

    “It feels better today,” Beal said. “I got a little injection. I have to let that take effect, let it do its magic, but I feel significantly better today than I have the last few days.”

    Beal worked his right elbow during a timeout during Monday’s 109-105 win over the Los Angeles Lakers at the Footprint Center. Admitting that the injury has caused him “a significant amount of trouble,” Beal scored 15 points, including the game-clinching free throws with 0.8 seconds left, but went just 1-of-7 from 3.

    “It sucks because I hit flat,” Beal said. “Everything was flat and short, but it’s just one of those things that gets your adrenaline going. It’s different ways to impact the game. I was like, man, let me focus on the defensive end. my body on the line, That’s difficult because you made a mistake, but you want to win. We have so many skilled, versatile guys that I don’t have to worry about scoring all the time.

    Beal wished he had looked openly, but he was proud of helping the Suns make defensive stops as they came back from an 18-point deficit in the first quarter. He made a standout defensive play in the first half when he denied Rui Hachimura at the basket in transition.

    The Lakers had a 3-1 at the break, but the 6-3 Beal jumped up and swamped the 6-8 Hachimura’s layup attempt before falling out of bounds, much to the delight of the sold-out crowd of 17,071.

    “I know Rui is an aggressive driver and jumper,” said Beal, who was a teammate with Hachimura in Washington for four seasons (2019-2023).

    “My biggest thing was making sure I got airborne and vertical before he did because it could be a poster really quickly. I was just happy I was in the right place at the right time. just took a great shot playing ball.”

    Beal missed last week’s win over Dallas in the home opener with right elbow soreness after getting caught in a screen late in a loss at the Los Angeles Lakers.

    This season he also has problems with his right shoulder. Beal played just 53 games in his first year in Phoenix last season as he dealt with multiple injuries.

    The three-time All-Star opened the 2024-25 regular season with a 24-point performance in an overtime road victory at the Clippers last week. He is averaging 18 points on 50% shooting so far this season.

    Josh Okogie remains out with a right hamstring strain. He did not play in the regular season.

    This will be the second of back-to-back for the Clippers, who lost to Portland on Wednesday night. Kawhi Leonard and Mo Bamba were ruled out of the game while recovering from a knee injury.

    Neither Leonard nor Bamba have played this season.

    Do you have an opinion on the current state of the suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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