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Posts tagged as “PHX”

Phoenix Suns defeats Golden State Warriors behind Booker’s 32 points with Green ejected from the game

December 13, 2023

The Golden State Warriors lost to the Phoenix Suns once again, with Devin Booker scoring 32 points and Bradley Beal’s 16 points, his first game from a back injury and just his 4th game this season. Suns are also without Kevin Durant who is missed his second game because of a left ankle sprain.

It was actually a close game in the first half, where the Suns largest lead was only 7 points then Golden State took a 13 points lead early in the 2nd qtr. In the second half, that’s where things took a bad turn for the Warriors when Golden State’s Draymond Green was ejected for receiving a Flagrant 2 foul after hitting Jusuf Nurkic in the face.

All but one Warriors starters are negative (-) in the +/- column and it was the Warriors bench that kept them in the game. Brandin Podziemski was able to cut the lead to just 1 point with 15 seconds remaining but Booker and Beal were able to make all their free throws to give them a 5 points cushion to secure the win.

Steph Curry lead the scoring for the GSW with 24 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists but was 4 of 15 from the 3-point, Klay Thompson was just 7 points and 5 rebounds after playing for 27 minutes. Five Warriors bench players scored in double figure lead by Brandin Podziemski with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists, Kuminga added 16 pts and 6 rebounds with Saric’s 15 points.

Aside from Booker, Suns got a lot of production from their starters including Jusuf Nurkic’s 17 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists, as well as Bradley Beals’s 17 points and Metu’s 14 points.

The Golden State Warriors will travel to LA to face the Clippers on Thursday, while the Suns will stay at home to host the Nets on Wednesday.

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

November 23, 2023

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.