Ahead of Friday's NBA Cup game, Phoenix Suns All-Star Devin Booker was looking forward to faicng the champion Oklahoma City Thunder . The challenge of facing defending champions with the stakes higher than most regular season games is an excellent test for the Suns, who pulled to within one point (115-114) down the stretch of a 123-119 before the Thunder outscored Phoenix 8-5 in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter.

After the loss, Booker spoke to the significance of giving the Thunder one of its more competitive games, thus far, versus a team with an 19-1 record. Booker is looking forward to an NBA Cup rematch in the quarterfinals , back at the Paycom Center, he said, per AZ Central's Duane Rankin.

“We fought. We fought all the way through. We knew it was going to be a

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