Suns vs. Pelicans: Everything you need to know about NBA playoffs series Game 6

Game 6: Suns at Pelicans

Storyline: Devin Booker's return remains in question after being listed out for Thursday's Game 6 in New Orleans. He will miss his fourth consecutive game since he suffered a right hamstring injury in Game 2, but the top-seeded Suns have the momentum as the No. 8 Pelicans face elimination. Game 5 was a must-win for the Suns, and so is Thursday for the Suns to prove their depth and win without Booker, and not allow the Pelicans' confidence to grow for a potential massive upset in a Game 7.

Phoenix Suns playoff schedule

NBA first-round playoff series, Suns lead 3 wins to 2.

Game 1 — Sunday, April 17: Phoenix 110, New Orleans 99

Game 2 — Tuesday, April 19: New Orleans 125, Phoenix 114

Game 3 — Friday, April 22: Phoenix 114, New Orleans 111

Game 4 — Sunday, April 24: New Orleans 118, Phoenix 103

Game 5 — Tuesday, April 26: Phoenix 112, New Orleans 97

Game 6 — Thursday, April 28, Phoenix at New Orleans, 4:30 p.m. (TNT/Bally Sports Arizona, Arizona Sports 98.7 PM)

Game 7 — Saturday, April 30: New Orleans at Phoenix, TBD (if necessary)

Drama: NBA hands Chris Paul flagrant 1 for kicking Jose Alvarado

Somers: Chris Paul is under pressure. He asks, what else is new?

Key matchup: Brandon Ingram vs. Jae Crowder

Brandon Ingram is the Pelicans' top scorer (28.2 points per game), best 3-point shooter (42.9%) in this postseason, and gets to the free-throw line the most for them (8.8 FTA per game). He's going to get his points as he can jump through the roof and is great in isolation, but containing him is the key. Jae Crowder, one of the Suns' best defenders, needs to contain him like he did in Game 1. Crowder said after that game he was focused on defending Ingram, as he helped hold him to 18 points on 6-of-17 shooting. Ingram had 22 points on 7-of-19 shooting in Game 5, but had a team-high five turnovers like he did in Game 1. Crowder had one of his best games on Tuesday contributing nine points (4-of-8 shooting), two rebounds, two assists, and two steals. If Crowder doesn't defend Ingram well, Ingram might score 30-plus points like he did in Games 2-4. Also, Ingram jammed his fingers on a foul by Ayton in Game 5, which could be something to track for his shooting touch despite his claim he's "fine."

For subscribers: 5 takeaways from Bridges leading Suns to pivotal Game 5 win

For subscribers: Return to New Orleans wasn't supposed to happen for Suns

Devin Booker injury update

As noted, Booker was listed out for Game 6, but there was some speculation he could still play — it would not be unprecedented for a team to change a player's official injury status. Speculation swirled for a possible Game 6 or 7 return thanks in part to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that Booker's “progressing.”

Stay tuned.

Related: Will Chris Paul get fined for postgame comments about tech?

Suns in 3 (quarters): How the Suns stopped Pelicans from taking over in Game 5

Hot topic: Which Suns player steps up for Booker?

The second biggest question to Booker's return is who else will step up big for the Suns late in Game 6? He's the league's seventh-best scorer from his 28-point average through Game 2, behind Ingram at sixth. Mikal Bridges dominated in Game 5 producing a game-high 31 points, including 24 in the second half. Chris Paul redeemed himself by posting 22 points, 11 assists and game-high three steals after his four-point outing in the Suns' Game 4 road loss. After Paul took over the fourth quarters in Game 1 and 3, and Bridges did as well in Game 5, and Deandre Ayton continues his stellar production averaging 20.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game.

Suns vs. Pelicans picks: Will Phoenix close out series?

Other hot topics:

In addition to Ingram, who will stop CJ McCollum? He ranks as the 17th best scorer in the playoffs at 23.4 points and leads the Pelicans in assists (5.6 per game). He's not only a great scorer, but a dangerous playmaker that can put the Suns out of position in their shifting and switching on defense.

Lastly, will we see more drama between Paul and Pelicans' Jose Alvarado? Both guards have their own separate game within the games throughout this series.

Key stats to know

• CP3 keeps rising on NBA's all-time assist lists — Paul is the NBA’s assists per game leader in this year’s postseason (12.0 apg). He has 60 assists through the first five games of the playoffs vs. Pelicans, the most by any player through five games since the 2018 postseason (Rajon Rondo – 64);

• Paul enters Game 6 four assists shy of passing Rondo for fifth on the NBA’s all-time postseason assists list, and 11 away from passing Tony Parker for fifth.

• Mikal Bridges joined Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki and Vince Carter as the only NBA players since at least 1983 with a playoff game performance recording at least or more than 30 points, four blocks and four 3-pointers made in Game 5.

• Suns have shot 50% or better from the field in all five games this series, setting a postseason franchise record for consecutive games shooting over 50%.

Related: Prediction: Pelicans will defeat Suns in 7 games

X-factor: The Pelicans crowd

Monty Williams has repeatedly stressed the importance of homecourt advantage in the playoffs. The raucous New Orleans crowd helped push the Pelicans to their 113-103 victory as the play-in tournament's ninth seed over the No. 10 Spurs on April 13. Then the Pelicans knocked out the L.A. Clippers in a road win two days later to clinch the eighth seed. The New Orleans home crowd also drove their energy to win Game 4, 118-103, the largest win margin of the Suns-Pelicans series. If the Pelicans push a Game 7, their fans at Thursday's game will deserve some of the credit.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Suns vs. New Orleans Pelicans: Everything to know about Game 6