The Phoenix Suns came into Chase Center on Friday night and demolished the Golden State Warriors 130-105. This was seen as a marquee clash between Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry but it turned out to be a no-contest, as the Suns dominated to improve to 25-22 while the Warriors dropped to 24-24.
Devin Booker was the star of the show for the Suns with 31 points (12-23 FG), five rebounds, 11 assists, and a steal. Bradley Beal impressed off the bench, finishing with 21 points (9-12 FG), two rebounds, two assists, and two steals. As for Durant, he had 19 points (6-13 FG), six rebounds, three assists, and a steal while new acquisition Nick Richards had 14 points (6-8 FG), 16 rebounds, one assist, and two blocks.
The Warriors were led by Andrew Wiggins, who had 17 points (6-20 FG), eight rebounds, six assists, two steals, and a block. Moses Moody also had 17 points (5-10 FG), to go with six rebounds, one assist, and one steal. Curry, meanwhile, didn’t show up as he finished with just 14 points (5-14 FG), three rebounds, three assists, and two blocks.
Let’s have a look at why it all went so horribly wrong for the Warriors here.
Stephen Curry No-Shows In The First Half
The Suns led by as many as 29 points here but this was a three-point game with 10 minutes left in the second quarter. Some Curry magic would have helped the Warriors seize control of the contest at that point, but he was completely anonymous for the entire first half.
Curry didn’t score a single point in the first quarter and had just two points in the second. He only took five shots in total in the first half and the Warriors aren’t going to win too many games where he’s being that ineffective.
This was the third time this season that Curry didn’t score a point in the first quarter and it nearly became the third time that he didn’t score in a half. Opposing teams are able to take him out of games every now and then. While Curry has to take a lot of the blame for this, it is also undeniable that teams are able to key in on him as they just don’t respect the players around him.
The Suns Put On An Offensive Clinic
The crowd at Chase Center has witnessed many offensive explosions over time and they got to see one from the Suns here. The visitors shot 50-89 (56.2%) from the field and 19-39 (48.7%) from beyond the arc. The Suns were particularly deadly in the third quarter, shooting 66.7% from the field and 55.6% from beyond the arc.
The third quarter used to be when the Warriors put on an offensive clinic to put teams away but they got a taste of their own medicine here. Their defense just had no answers for the Suns.
The Suns’ ball movement was on point here too. Of those 50 made field goals, 41 were assisted and that’s the kind of beautiful basketball the Warriors once played. When the Suns weren’t raining down those threes like their opponents used to, they were pummelling them inside, racking up 56 points in the paint.
Booker did a magnificent job of running the Suns’ offense and perhaps was making a statement here after not being selected to the All-Star team. Had he been playing this well all season, he would have made it in.
The Warriors Have One Of Their Worst Shooting Nights Of The Season
While the Suns had one of their best offensive nights of the season, the Warriors had one of their worst. They went 36-96 (37.5%) from the field and it was the seventh time this season that they had failed to shoot over 38% in a game.
The Warriors’ offense was particularly woeful in the second half, as they shot 32.0% from the field after halftime. Wiggins was the biggest culprit, as he went 2-12 from the field. He was trying to be aggressive, but it backfired on the Warriors in a big way.
Someone who was making shots for the Warriors in this game was Buddy Hield, who had 13 points (5-7 FG) at halftime. Head coach Steve Kerr only played him for three minutes in the second half, though, and it was a puzzling decision.
Sure. Hield is not a great defender, but he could well have made some shots and kept the Warriors within touching distance had he been given some more minutes. Kerr made a few questionable decisions in this game and certainly has to take some of the blame for this loss.
The Warriors now get a couple of days to reset, as they take on the Orlando Magic next at Chase Center on Monday at 10 PM ET. The Suns, meanwhile, take on the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center on Saturday at 10 PM ET.
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