Suns should get lift with return of Johnson

Johnson, the Suns third leading scorer, has not played since being injured on May 11 in Game 2 of the conference semifinals against Dallas. He suffered a displaced fracture of his left orbital bone and underwent surgery to repair the damage the next day.

He returned to practice on Thursday wearing a protective mask and declared himself ready for Game 3.

The Suns went on to beat the Mavericks in six games in the best-of-seven series without Johnson. Phoenix, however, has dropped the first two games of the conference finals at home against the Spurs.

The 23-year-old Johnson had never missed a game for Phoenix since being acquired in February of 2002. He was injured when fouled hard by Dallas’ Jerry Stackhouse as he was driving to the basket late in the first half, landing face-first on the court. Johnson, who was cut near the left eye, stayed on the floor for several minutes.

Johnson left the game after shooting two free throws and received six stitches to close the cut. He has been an integral part of the Suns postseason success, as he averaged 21.2 points through his first six playoff games.