Pistons vs. Suns: Vogel Sounds Off on Devin Booker’s Ejection

There was a lot to look forward to regarding Wednesday night’s game between the Phoenix Suns and the Detroit Pistons.

With Pistons head coach Monty Williams making his first return to Phoenix since parting ways with the organization following the 2023 NBA Playoffs, Suns superstar Devin Booker looked forward to facing his former coach, who he offered a ton of praise to in the days leading up to the game.

Unfortunately, Booker’s night did not go as planned. Just five minutes into the first quarter, Booker landed his second technical foul, leading to an automatic ejection. Getting tossed early was a result of arguing a call and apparently making “disparaging remarks.”

Following the game, Williams’ replacement in Phoenix, Frank Vogel, sounded off on the officials’ decision to call the second technical foul.

"They just said they asked him to stop whatever his complaint was, and then he said something else to the other official, and they ran him out," Vogel told reporters after the game. "Just freaking ridiculous. It was total BS to take the star player out of the game. I've seen worse than what he did on a nightly basis. Not that, I've seen it before, I see it every night. Unprecedented. Those are good officials that were on the game tonight, but that was certainly uncalled for and BS."

When Booker left the game, he had seven points, one rebound, and one assist.

The early ejection offered the Pistons an opportunity to try and take advantage of the additional loss of star power on the other end of the floor. With the Suns down Booker and Bradley Beal, they rallied around a 25-point effort from Kevin Durant.

Unfortunately, Monty Williams’ young Detroit squad still couldn’t keep up and take advantage of the early departure. Pistons forward Simone Fontecchhio led the way with 18 points in 21 minutes. Meanwhile, Ausar Thompson and Cade Cunningham combined for 27 points.

While Vogel and the Suns were displeased with the decision to have Booker see an early exit, it didn’t affect their primary goal. With a 116-100 victory, the Suns enter the All-Star break with a 33-22 record. Meanwhile, the Pistons dropped their third straight and entered the break at 8-46.