Suns Suffer Last-Minute Blow Ahead of Game 4 vs Thunder

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns have made the final ruling on starting guard Jordan Goodwin's status for tonight's Game 4 matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Goodwin will once again be out after missing the last two games with a left calf strain.

"Yeah, we just miss him. You miss his energy, his enthusiasm, his spirit, and obviously on both ends, especially defensively, he's a possession gainer. One of our best on-ball defenders," Suns coach Jordan Ott said pre-game. "That's why any time he can give us [tonight] that would be super helpful."

That won't be the case.

He originally suffered the injury after playing just five minutes in Game 1, and it was also an injury that caused him to miss seven-straight games shortly after the All-Star break.

Goodwin was set to be the primary defender on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in this series, but the Suns have had to resort to Collin Gillespie taking this challenge after he went down.

Dillon Brooks said after Saturday's Game 3 loss that he will now be taking the assignment on Gilgeous-Alexander, as the Suns will try anything they can to slow the reigning MVP down after he went for 42 points on 15-of-18 shooting on Saturday.

Mark Williams will also continue to be out for Phoenix tonight with a left foot third metatarsal stress reaction.

Devin Booker spoke on the mindset of the Suns continuing to fight after Game 3 with them now down 3-0 in the series and without two starters in Goodwin and Williams.

"That's what the playoffs is about. (That fight) is what we've hung our hat on all season, even being down guys right now, probably our best defender and our best rim protector," Booker said. "You have to keep going. That's the nature of the game, and we've been doing that all year."

As has been the case throughout the series, the Suns will be facing an uphill battle tonight trying to avoid a sweep against the defending champs, even with Jalen Williams sidelined with a left hamstring strain.

OKC will be looking to earn its third first-round sweep in a row after doing it the last two seasons, while Booker and Phoenix will be trying to avoid their 10th-consecutive playoff loss tonight.

All season long, the Suns have shown they can't be counted out, but the Thunder are the toughest challenge in the NBA right now, especially given the differences in where the two teams currently stand.

If Phoenix does what it has done all year, the Suns will not go down without a fight, so we will see just how exactly that presents itself in tonight's elimination game.

Tonight's game will begin shortly after 6:30 p.m. MST on NBCSN and Peacock.

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