Devin Booker and Kevin Durant led the Phoenix Suns over Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, 113-105, on Saturday.
The Suns were playing without starters Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkic because of injuries.
This was a bounce-back win for the Suns after their loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday. The victory also extended the recently struggling Warriors’ skid to four games.
Booker had 27 points and nine assists and Durant had his first double-double of the season, with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Curry had his team’s high 23 points with seven rebounds, Andrew Wiggins had 18, and Draymond Green had 13 with seven assists to lead Golden State.
The Suns held the lead from the end of the first quarter and their largest margin was 19. The Warriors didn’t give up in the closing minutes. They went on a 9-0 run, which shaved the Suns’ advantage to six again from a dunk by Jonathan Kuminga (12 points), after the Warriors recovered a loose-ball turnover by Tyus Jones (19 points, nine assists) in the Warriors’ full-court press at two minutes left.
Durant hit his third 3 during the next Suns possession, and then Kuminga and Curry scored two buckets to cut it to five. Kuminga fouled Booker during the two subsequent Suns possessions. Booker made the ensuing four free throws to seal the victory.
The Suns will play in the final of their six-game homestand against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The game is an NBA Cup West Group B play matchup.
Curry gets hot for Warriors in 3rd quarter
Phoenix is entering the fourth quarter on a 85-78 lead, staying ahead since the end of the first.
Booker has the game-high 21 points with six assists.
Curry began to look like his usual self in the third, scoring 15 of his 17 total points (5-of-14 FG). After his first-half struggles going 0-for-5, he had a heat check hitting three 3s before the third quarter’s midpoint. That cut the Suns lead to nine. Green has been the Warriors’ most efficient shooter. He’s shot 5-of-7, including two 3s, for 13 points.
Allen, Suns hot from deep in 2nd quarter
Grayson Allen scored all of his 13 points (4-of-5) in the second quarter to lead Phoenix’s surge for a commanding 66-49 lead at halftime.
The Suns’ outside shooting has been problematic for the Warriors. They’ve nailed 54.8% overall, and a stellar 66.7% on 21 triples (14 made). The Suns ended the second quarter on a 13-5 run to extend their largest lead to 17.
The Suns’ other starters Booker, Durant, and Tyus Jones have all scored in double figures with 12, 10, and 11.
Wiggins has the Warriors team-high 11 points (4-of-8), and Curry struggled in the half with just two points, missing all five of his attempts.
Caitlin Clark at Suns-Warriors game
There was a sighting of WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark sitting courtside at the Suns-Warriors game.
The Indiana Fever guard was shown on Footprint Center’s Jumbotron not long after the second quarter’s midpoint.
Clark was a First-Team All-WNBA selection during her historic 2024 debut season, in which she won the Rookie of the Year award.
Booker, Durant spark Suns in tight 1st quarter
Devin Booker’s 10 points and Kevin Durant’s eight have driven Phoenix to a 35-29 lead to close the opening quarter.
The Warriors’ starting guard Brandin Podziemski has his team-high eight points.
It was a tight margin throughout the first quarter, in which there were six ties and three lead changes. The largest Suns lead was six, and the Warriors’ five.
The best highlight from the first quarter was Booker lobbing one of his four assists to the Suns’ rookie big Oso Ighodaro at 1:17 to put them ahead, 32-27.
Starting lineups
The Suns are starting guards Tyus Jones and Booker, Grayson Allen making his first start of the season, Durant at the four, and Mason Plumlee in the middle.
The Warriors are starting Curry and Brandin Podziemski in the backcourt, forwards Wiggins and Green, as well as Trayce Jackson-Davis at center.
Kerr jokes about ASU’s win over Arizona
Warriors’ coach Steve Kerr joked about Arizona State routing his alma mater and rival Arizona in the Territorial Cup, 49-7 on Saturday. Kerr started his pregame media availability showing his allegiance to the Wildcats, which drew laughs.
“Before I get started, if there are any U of A or ASU questions, I’d like to remind everyone that we still have the all-time series lead, 51-46,” Kerr said.
Kerr played basketball at Arizona from 1983-88, and was drafted by the Suns when he graduated.
Suns’ Beal, Nurkic out
Phoenix coach Mike Budenholzer said during his pregame media availability that Beal and starting center Nurkic (right quad contusion) have been downgraded from questionable to out. The Suns’ backup guard Collin Gillespie (right ankle fracture) is out.
Golden State’s future Hall of Famers Stephen Curry (bilateral knee patellofemoral pain) and Andrew Wiggins have been ruled available shortly before the tip-off. The Warriors have a long list on their injury report. That also includes Jonathan Kuminga (illness), and Gary Payton II (right adductor tightness) elevated from probable to available. Former Suns guard De’Anthony Melton (left ACL sprain) and Gui Santos (G League – on assignment) are out.