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Suns defeats Warriors behind Durant and Booker (123 – 115)

November 23, 2023
Image: @NBCSWarriors

After winning their last game, Warriors got another loss from the Phoenix Suns lead by Kevin Durant, who scored a game high of 32 points with 8 rebs and 2 assists.

Warriors initially finished the 1 qtr with a 5 point lead but the Suns practically ended the game with a 37 – 16 run in the 2nd quarter. The Suns biggest lead was 23 points with just 7 mins remaining in the qtr. On the last 23 seconds of the 2nd qtr, Warriors received a total of 3 consecutive technical fouls from referee Scott Foster; a quick 2 by Chris Paul, after arguing about a foul he committed on Durant, this got Paul ejected from the game, then another technical foul on Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr for shouting at Foster after Paul’s ejection.

The Warriors tried to make a run in the 3rd qtr but ended up where they were in the 1st half, trailing by 16 points.

In the 4th Qtr, Warriors starter made another run but it made little to no difference, since all of the Warriors starters had a negative impact on the game. This is when things got interesting, with just 6 mins left in the game, Steve Kerr removed all his starters then put the Warriors’ bench; Saric, Kuminga, T. Jackson, C. Joseph and Brandin Podziemski. Warriors’ bench went on a 14 to 4 run, cutting the lead to a single digit on a Cory Joseph 8-foot pullup jump shot.

Golden State were able to cut the lead to just 6 points with enough time to steal the game but the Suns was able to hold on to their lead even after a Podziemski 3-point play that cut their lead to just 4 points. Steve Kerr later explained why he left the bench team remained and finished the game;

Aside from Durant, Booker had a double-double game with his 25 pts and 10 assists. Eric Gordon chipped-in 13 pts, 4 assists and 3 steals.

For the Warriors, this was Klay Thompson’s second game scoring a team high of 23 points but a liability no defence, while Curry who have been the bright spot for the Warriors was a non-factor in this game even though he had 16 points, he was 1-of-8 from the 3-point line and just 6-of-15 from the field.

The only Warriors take away from this game is that if needed their bench team can be a big help, specially when (and if) they reach the play-offs.

Warriors next game will be against the San Antonio Spurs, while the Suns will face the Memphis Grizzlies both games will be this Saturday, Nov. 25th.

Published in Basketball, NBA and Sports