The Suns came into this game after winning 6 of their last 7 games. The Warriors were coming off of a 2 game losing streak. This was also the second game of a back-to-back for the Warriors. The Warriors and Suns played earlier this season and the Suns won that game by 21 points. In these 2 teams first matchup Devin Booker didn’t play and would play in this game which gave the Suns an extra advantage from their last matchup against the Warriors. The Warriors were missing Stephen Curry, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Draymond Green in this game which happened on Draymond’s birthday. This game was also the last game before the all star break. In this game Nico Mannion got his first start of his career. This was also a possibility for the Warriors to lose 3 games in a row for the first time this season. For the Suns to win they needed to have nice games from Devin Booker and Chris Paul, force a bunch of turnovers, and exploit the Warriors young lineup. For the Warriors to win they needed to defend Booker and Paul, keep low on fouls and turnovers, and Andrew Wiggins would need to have an amazing game. Would the Warriors get an upset win over the Suns or would Devin Booker and Chris Paul be able to lead the Suns to the win? To the game!
Deandre Ayton won the tip which led to an Andrew Wiggins 3 point play after a defensive stop from the Warriors. At 10:21 Jae Crowder made a 3 to tie the game at 3 and give the Suns their first points of the game. At 7:46 Devin Booker made a stepback jumper to give the Suns their first lead of the game. At 6:08 Jae Crowder made a 3 to give the Suns a 5 point lead. To end the quarter Dario Šarić made a layup to give the Suns a 34-23 lead. The Suns ended the first quarter with a nice 10-0 run. Jae Crowder led the Suns in the first quarter with 8 points and James Wiseman led the Warriors with 7 points. The Warriors ended with 2 fewer assists, 11 fewer rebounds, 2 more steals, 5 fewer turnovers, and 5 fewer fouls than the Suns in the first quarter. The Warriors and Suns each 1 block in the first quarter. The Suns shot very well in the first quarter with 60% from the field and 57.1% from deep. The Warriors didn’t shoot as well with 40.9% from the field and 12.5% from 3. Entering the second quarter the Warriors hoped to be able to tie the game or take the lead by halftime. Entering the second quarter the Suns were looking to take a 20+ point lead by halftime.
To start the 2nd quarter Cameron Payne made a pullup jumper to give the Suns a 13 point lead. At 11:11 Dario Šarić made a layup to give the Suns a 15 point lead. At 9:12 Abdel Nader made 1 of 2 free throws to give the Suns a 20 point lead. At 8:51 Andrew Wiggins made a fadeaway turnaround jumper to cut it back down to an 18 point game. Then at the 5 minute mark Deandre Ayton made 2 free throws to give the Suns a 20 point lead. At 4:28 Nico Mannion made a 3 to make it a 17 point game for the Warriors. At the 3 minute mark Jordan Poole made a deep 3 to make it a 15 point game. At 1:08 Cameron Payne made a 3 to give the Suns a 16 point lead. With 27.3 seconds left in the half Jordan Poole got a 3 point play to cut the Suns’ lead to 13 points. To end the quarter Juan Toscano-Anderson got a steal and then a dunk. At halftime the Suns were leading 62-51. The Warriors ended the first half well with a 10-3 run. Jordan Poole played very well to lead the Warriors off the bench with 13 points and 2 rebounds. Juan Toscano-Anderson and Andrew Wiggins also played well with a combined 19 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, and 1 block. Devin Booker led the Suns in the first half with 10 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal. Jae Crowder also played well for the Suns with 8 points, 3 rebounds, and a steal. At halftime the Warriors had 5 fewer assists, 13 fewer rebounds, 2 more steals, 1 fewer block, 2 fewer turnovers, and 3 fewer fouls than the Suns. Both teams shot well in the first half but the Suns shot a little bit better than the Warriors with 51.1% from the field and 40% from 3 compared to the Warriors with 46.5% from the field and 26.7% from downtown. The Warriors hoped to tie the game and possibly take the lead in the third quarter. The Suns on the other hand hoped to take a 20+ point lead in the 3rd quarter. To the third!
To start the 3rd quarter Damion Lee made a buzzer beater 3 that made it an 8 point game. At 11:13 Devin Booker made 1 of 2 free throws to give the Suns their first points of the quarter. At 10:40 Jae Crowder made a 3 to give the Suns a 10 point lead. At 7:51 Devin Booker made a 3 to give the Suns a 16 point lead. Then at 6:46 Nico Mannion made a jumper to make it a 14 point game. At 3:38 Devin Booker made a layup to give the Suns a 16 point lead once again. At 2:11 Eric Paschall made 2 free throws to make it a 15 point game. At 1:34 Cameron Payne made a layup to give the Suns a 17 point lead. For the final points of the quarter Brad Wanamaker made a 3 to make it 14 point game. Entering the 4th quarter the Suns were leading 87-73. In the first 3 quarters Andrew Wiggins led the Warriors with 13 points and Devin Booker led the Suns with 16 points. The Warriors had 8 fewer assists, 7 fewer rebounds, 1 more steal, and 3 fewer fouls than the Suns after the first 3 quarters. The Warriors and Suns each had 3 blocks and 13 turnovers after the first 3 quarters. The Suns were shooting well with 49.3% from the field and 43.5% from 3. The Warriors were shootings bit worse with 42.4% from the field and 32% from deep. In the first quarter the Warriors hoped to either force overtime or get the win and the Suns hoped to close out the game easily to get the win.
To start the 4th quarter Cameron Payne got a 3 point play that gave the Suns a 17 point lead. At the 11 minute mark Jevon Carter made a 3 that gave the Suns a 20 point lead. At 10:14 Brad Wanamaker made a layup to give the Warriors their first points of the quarter. At 9:18 Eric Paschall made a stepback jumper to make it a 14 point game. At 8:42 Abdel Nader made a layup to bring the Suns’ lead back up to 16 points. Then at the 8 minute mark Andrew Wiggins made a 3 to make it a 15 point game. At 7:21 Nader made a layup to give the Suns a 17 point lead. At the 6 minute mark James Wiseman made a jumper to make it a 14 point game. At 5:40 Dario Šarić made a layup to give the Suns a 16 point lead. Then at 4:25 Cameron Payne made a layup to give the Suns a 20 point lead. At 3:13 Jordan Poole made a 3 to make it a 19 point game for the Warriors. At 2:45 Jevon Carter made a layup to bring the Suns’ lead back up to 21 points. With 49.5 seconds left in the game Jalen Smith made a layup to give the Suns a 25 point lead. For the final points of the game Jordan Poole made a 3 to make it a 22 point game. The Suns ended up winning 120-98.
Leo’s Courtside Commentary: This was a very lopsided game because only one of the Warriors starters played in this game in Andrew Wiggins. Jordan Poole played very well for the Warriors in this game with a career high 26 points, 3 rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a block off the bench. James Wiseman played well too with a double double of 11 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block. Andrew Wiggins also played well for the Warriors with 16 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Cameron Payne led the Suns off the bench with a double double of 17 points, 5 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals, and a block. Devin Booker also played well for the Suns with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and a steal. The Warriors ended up with 9 fewer assists, 12 fewer rebounds, 1 more steal, 1 more turnover, and 5 fewer fouls than the Suns. The Warriors and Suns both had 4 blocks in this game. The Warriors shot decently with 43.2% from the field, 34.3% from downtown, and 62.5% on free throws. The Suns shot very well in this game with 51% from the field, 40% from 3, and 76.9% from the free throw line. This game completed a 3 game losing streak which is their largest of the season so far. Overall, this was a disappointing game due to 4 of the 5 Warrior starters not playing.
Out of LF 
Terrible game. Why didn’t Curry play and why was so much of the starting lineup missing?
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