Warriors
Booker's 43 and a 45-point third quarter carry Suns past Warriors in overtime, 131-122
Phoenix beat Golden State 131-122 in overtime at Mortgage Matchup Center. Devin Booker scored 43 on 17-of-25 shooting, and the Suns outscored the Warriors 45-38 in the third quarter. Phoenix improves to 1-1, while Golden State falls to 0-3 and sits 15th in the West.
By the Hoops Nightly Desk · updated 1 h ago01The story of the nightThe third quarter set the paceThe Suns trailed 25-22 after one quarter.
The Suns trailed 25-22 after one quarter. They led 57-54 at the half after a 35-point second. The third quarter was the biggest swing. Phoenix scored 45 to Golden State's 38 and went into the fourth up 102-92. That was the Suns' largest stretch of the night. Their biggest lead was 16 points. Golden State's was 7. The Warriors answered with 30 in the fourth against Phoenix's 29 and tied the game at 122-122. The teams traded the lead 14 times. Phoenix then took control in overtime. The Suns hold a 131-122 final margin, so they outscored Golden State 9-0 in the extra period.
02Booker leads the wayDevin Booker scored 43 points on 17-of-25 shooting.
Devin Booker scored 43 points on 17-of-25 shooting. He added 7 rebounds and 7 assists and made 7 of 8 free throws. He played 36.5 minutes and turned it over 4 times. Miles Bridges added 16 points and 7 rebounds on 6-of-11 shooting. Dillon Brooks scored 15 with 5 assists. Jalen Green had 12 points but shot 5-of-10 and was a minus-16 in 26.4 minutes. For Golden State, Yaxel Lendeborg had 26 points and 9 rebounds, including 6 of 11 from three. De'Anthony Melton scored 25 off the bench on 8-of-13 shooting. Brandon Williams added 20.
03Where Phoenix won itThe Suns won the points that come easy.
The Suns won the points that come easy. They scored 60 in the paint to Golden State's 48. They had 27 fast-break points to the Warriors' 10. They scored 26 points off turnovers to Golden State's 12, even though the turnover counts were close at 15 for Phoenix and 16 for Golden State. Phoenix shot 50-of-86 (58.1%) and assisted on 33 baskets. Golden State shot 41-of-91 (45.1%). The Warriors made more threes, 17 of 39 to Phoenix's 14 of 37, and won the rebounding 54-46. They also had 46 bench points to Phoenix's 36. It was not enough.
04Bench and rotation notesBoth benches mattered.
Both benches mattered. Collin Gillespie had 11 points and 9 assists for Phoenix and was a plus-16 in 27.9 minutes. Luke Kennard added 11 on 3-of-5 from three. Jordan Goodwin had 9 points and 3 steals. Ryan Dunn gave Phoenix 5 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks in 12.8 minutes. For Golden State, Charles Bassey scored 10 on 4-of-4 shooting with 7 rebounds in 12.7 minutes. Georges Niang was 2-of-9 and 0-of-5 from three, with 3 turnovers. LJ Cryer shot 1-of-5. Gary Payton II was a minus-14 in 17.3 minutes.
05What it meansPhoenix moves to 1-1 and is 10th in the West.
Phoenix moves to 1-1 and is 10th in the West. The Suns have won one straight game. Their 16-point lead and 26 points off turnovers show a team that can score in transition and in the paint. Golden State drops to 0-3 and is 15th in the West, with three straight losses. The Warriors got big games from Lendeborg, Melton and Williams. They still could not stop Booker or the Suns' paint and fast-break scoring over five extra minutes.
A+
B+
B
A-
B+
D