Suns Stars Shine Bright in Crucial Win vs Warriors

Devin Booker and Kevin Durant showed up for the Phoenix Suns.

Nov 2, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) and forward Kevin Durant (35) react after a time out late in the second half during a game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-Imagn Images / Allan Henry-Imagn Images

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns have improved to 11-8 on the season after defeating the Golden State Warriors in 113-105 fashion on Saturday night.

Heading into the night, the Suns were without Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkic due to injury - forcing head coach Mike Budenholzer to plug Grayson Allen and Mason Plumlee into the starting lineup.

Steph Curry - who was questionable for Golden State with a knee injury - ultimately played and scored 23 points after shaking off an uncharacteristic poor shooting start.

The Warriors have now lost four games in a row.

For Phoenix, stars in Devin Booker (27 points) and Kevin Durant (21 points) played a massive part in Phoenix's clutch win early in the season.

Royce O'Neale (11 points) and Monte Morris (8) also had key contributions off the bench.

Quick Recap

The Suns got off to a strong start, leading Golden State 35-29 after the first quarter after all of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Tyus Jones finished the opening period with eight or more points. The Suns shot a strong 7-10 from deep while Golden State made just 9-22 shots from the field.

Phoenix's lead reached 12 points early in the second, forcing Warriors coach Steve Kerr to call a timeout to settle his crew. The Suns maintained their big lead into halftime, 66-49, thanks to a quiet first half from Steph Curry, who went 0-5 from the field. Every Phoenix starter but Mason Plumlee had ten or more points.

Curry woke up in the third quarter, scoring 15 points and not allowing the Suns to pull away - keeping Phoenix's lead around 10 for most of the quarter before the Suns went ahead 85-78 moving into the fourth quarter. To this point the Warriors shot under 40% from both the field (38.8%) and three-point land (39.3%).

With both squads battling, a Tyus Jones three-pointer saw the Suns take a 13 point lead at the halfway mark of the fourth, a deficit Golden State couldn't overcome down the stretch of the final six minutes. The Warriors did break Phoenix's lead down to five with just over a minute to play, though the Suns were able to hit free throws and keep their distance until the final buzzer.

What's Next

The Suns don't play again until Tuesday, Dec. 3 when they host the San Antonio Spurs in NBA Cup action at Footprint Center.