Suns Center Deandre Ayton Ruled Out vs Nuggets With Rib Injury

The Phoenix Suns look to shake off a miserable Game 5 performance against the Denver Nuggets, falling in 118-102 fashion to ultimately trail 3-2 in their second-round series.

Thursday's Game 6 will push the Suns' backs against the wall, and one of their starters could potentially be battling through injury.

Suns center Deandre Ayton was overheard complaining about a rib injury when exiting the arena, according to the Arizona Republic's Duane Rankin.

Deandre Ayton was walking out of the arena talking about pain in his ribs after taking a knee from a driving Bruce Brown in the first half of Game 5. #Suns #Nuggets #NBAPlayoffs
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) May 10, 2023

The Suns have officially ruled him out heading into Game 6.

Ayton was hit in the ribs by Denver's Bruce Brown during the first quarter last night, staying down on the defensive end of the floor before Suns coach Monty Williams called a timeout to stop play.

Jock Landale checked in for Ayton before he eventually returned later in the second quarter. He finished with 14 points and nine rebounds in 32 minutes.

After the game, Ayton discussed the injury.

"I feel good, everybody thought it knocked the wind out of me. It was like bone-on-bone... I had my breath, it just hurt a little bit," Ayton said via The Arizona Republic's Dana Scott.

"It's the playoffs. You gotta get up. You gotta get up and do something. I love this, man. They did their job at home and we gotta handle ours at home. This is a seven-game series, may the best team win."

Deandre Ayton was in pain from his bandaged lower right rib cage at his locker after Game 5.

Ayton said he’s “fine” from the “bone-on-bone” collision with Nuggets’ Bruce Brown, who kneed him as Brown drove to the hole in 1Q. Ayton couldn’t run back on offense after that play. pic.twitter.com/PLUfA6yNM0
— DANA (@iam_DanaScott) May 10, 2023

The play of Ayton has fallen under heavy scrutiny this series, as Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has dominated nearly every game in some form or fashion - he's posted a triple double in two of the last three games with the odd game featuring a 53 point performance.