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Steph Curry had just beaten his brother's team (Portland Trailblazers) in a revenge match at home in the Oracle, before flying out to Phoenix to face the lowly Suns. The champions started out slow but surged to squash any possible hope in the minds of the crowd at the Talking Stick Resort arena, and clinched a blowout 132-109 road victory over the Phoenix Suns.
Coming into this one, the Suns had just been beaten by the Thunder and the Nuggets, and the loss against the Warriors means that they have now been beaten by all three of the top teams in the West in quick succession. Devin Booker's amalgamation with the No.1 draft pick in DeAndre Ayton isn't exactly bearing fruit as the franchise would have expected.
With their last win of 2018, Golden State have now won six out of their last ten games and separate themselves from the now-third-seed Oklahoma City Thunder by one game. They currently possess a 25-13 (0.658) win-loss record while the Suns graze the bottom of the West with the league's second-worst record (9-29) to their name.
The loss means that they are now a miserable 5-14 at home and an insurmountable 16 games behind the Conference leaders.
Let's draw out some key takeaways from the Warriors' rout of the ever-so-downcast Phoenix Suns for the 17th straight time, including eight in a row in Phoenix.
#1 Stephen Curry proves why he's a former back-to-back two-time MVP.
Steph is shooting a near-career-best 45.2% from beyond the arc this season. His average of 28.7 points per game is the second best in the league right now, behind James Harden (33.3).
In the 27 games he has played for the Warriors this season, he has made 133 three-pointers, five of which came against the Suns in this game. He shot an impressive 5-of-7 from the field, and finished with a game-high total of 34 points along with nine rebounds and four assists.
He made all of his seven free-throws and shot a decent 11-of-17 from the field. This was Curry's fourth 20+ point night in the last five games, which includes the 42-point showcase he put up against the Clippers last week.
#2 Suns' star players all score at least 20 points but get no help
TJ Warren, DeAndre Ayton, and Devin Booker all scored over 20 points on a night when the Warriors were looking invincible. Rookie Ayton recorded himself another double-double of 25 points (team-high) and 10 rebounds (four of which were on the offensive glass) while star Devin Booker finished with 20 points and six assists.
TJ Warren shot 8-of-17 from the floor, chipping in with 24 points for his team, on a night when the trio took almost 50 of the team's 85 shots. Kelly Oubre Jr. was the only other Suns player in double digits while the rest of the players on the roster could not score more than seven points individually.
Against a team like the Warriors, you really don't expect your star player to commit five turnovers, and that's what Coach Kokoskov pointed out in broad terms after the game.
"There's such a low margin for error when you play the champs," Suns coach Igor Kokoskov said.
#3 The visitors shoot lights out from the field and from distance
The visitors started out slow in the first quarter, but conjured an imposing 24-7 run to close the half with a 69-52 cushion. The high-scoring third quarter saw GSW outscoring the hosts again, this time 39-35, stretching their lead into double-digits.
"Pretty much the whole second quarter and beyond, we were just disciplined defensively and played with a purpose on offense," Curry said. "Created good shots. It was a great night."
The exhaustive shooting mechanism of the Warriors showed up yet again, as they dropped 46-of-84 from the floor, bringing their field-goal conversion for the game to an impressive 55%. Their long-range shooting did not disappoint either as the Dubs made 14-of-28 shots, netting a mind-blowing 50% from distance.
The Warriors' Big Three contributed with ten made three-pointers amongst each other, and Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson combined for 40 points on the night.
"I thought we slowed them down and we beat them with our minds instead of just outrunning them," Durant said. "Our offense and our talent just take over and we just made shots."
Guess the Lakers players!
