The Phoenix Suns got exactly the kind of response they needed Saturday night, taking a 131-122 win over the Golden State Warriors in their home opener at Mortgage Matchup Center.
For Phoenix, the night was about more than just getting into the win column for the first time this regular season. It was about steadying itself after a shaky start, and Devin Booker supplied the jolt the Suns were looking for.
Booker, who drew plenty of criticism for his showing in Portland, answered with a huge bounce-back performance. His stat line said it all: 43 points on 17-25 shooting, plus seven rebounds and seven assists. If Phoenix was going to avoid another loss, Booker was going to have to drag it there, and that’s exactly what he did.
The Warriors arrived shorthanded, with Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, Kristaps Porzingis and Brandin Podziemski among those unavailable. Golden State was down to 11 players, which made this the kind of night the Suns were supposed to control.
But it never really turned into the comfortable cruise it should have been.
Phoenix opened the game by trailing after the first quarter, then edged ahead by three at halftime. The Suns built their biggest cushion at 10 points in the third, only to let Golden State claw back into it again. For a team with this much of a talent edge on paper, that lack of separation is hard to ignore.
The rebounding numbers added another uneasy layer to the win. Phoenix had already been beaten on the glass 56-39 in its season opener in Portland, and this time the Suns were again not nearly sharp enough in that area. Golden State was a team that finished last season as one of the league’s weaker rebounding groups, and six of its top seven rebounders from last year were either gone or unavailable Saturday night.
Even with Mark Williams and Oso Ighodaro out for Phoenix, this still looked like a game the Suns should have dominated on the boards. Instead, they were out-rebounded 44-42.
The result is a win, and the Suns move to 1-1. But the rebounding issues are impossible to miss, and they sit right near the top of the list of concerns after a night that should have felt a lot cleaner.
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Curry spoke afterward about how painful the collapse was, which was understandable given how close the Warriors were to closing out a much-needed win. Instead, they absorbed a second straight loss and now have to sort through both the frustration of giving one away and the reality of doing it while key pieces remain out of the lineup, a mix that makes every missed opportunity feel even heavier. [Read more 🡒]
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For the Warriors, that has turned into a situation worth watching closely. Golden State has salary cap flexibility and is reportedly interested in multiple Magic players, with the possibility that Orlandos response to this injury could make names like Franz Wagner and Wendell Carter Jr. more relevant in the trade market. The next move from the Magic may say as much about their timeline as it does about their current season. [Read more 🡒]
Luka Drama Just Pulled The Grizzlies Into A Bigger NBA Debate
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For Golden State, the most interesting part may be how quickly the room around him reacted. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green backed Lendeborgs right to speak his mind, even as the rookie acknowledged he may have gone too far and insisted he would keep being himself. It left the Warriors with a young player who clearly isnt afraid to take a stand, and a fresh layer of intrigue around how that edge will play inside a veteran locker room. [Read more 🡒]