Despite making a late push, the Phoenix Suns fell short to the Golden State Warriors in 118-107 fashion on Tuesday night.
Their two-game winning streak now comes to an end, dropping their record to 3-5 on the season.
Devin Booker reached a new season high in scoring with 38 points, marking the sixth time in Phoenix’s first eight games he’s reached over 30 points scored.
Jalen Green (hamstring) and Dillon Brooks (core) were out for Phoenix while Jimmy Butler (lower back) was a game-time decision for the Warriors before ultimately playing – though he left early and did not return.
In spite of Butler’s absence, Golden State shot tremendously well – converting 50% of shots from the field and 45% from downtown.
They led by as much as 25 on the night.
Quick recap:
The Suns started out just 1-11 shooting from the field, and combined with Golden State’s 14-2 run after the first, Phoenix found themselves down early 17-13 entering the first timeout of the game.
Collin Gillespie and Oso Ighodaro were the first players off the bench for the Suns. Nigel Hayes-Davis also checked in for Phoenix in the first.
Golden State eventually hit another 11-2 run towards the end of the first to spring a timeout from Suns coach Jordan Ott.
Phoenix trailed 33-19 as the second quarter began. Warriors big man Quinten Post led all scorers with nine points while the Suns shot just 1-7 from three-point land to start the game.
Gillespie, the NBA’s top three-point shooting reserve player, scored a quick six points in ten seconds to trim Golden State’s advantage to ten, forcing Warriors coach Steve Kerr to stop action and collect his troops.
Yet true to Warriors fashion, Golden State quickly caught fire and emerged to a 45-27 lead with just over eight minutes left in the half. The Warriors were shooting a strong 50% from the field and 60% from deep to that point.
That prompted Ott to plug most of his starting lineup back into action with the exception of Gillespie on the floor.
Golden State maintained a roughly 20-point advantage in the closing moments of the first half, ultimately entering the locker room up 68-49.
Booker’s 17 points was a team-high for Phoenix after two quarters. No other Suns player had more than seven.
Butler played 14 minutes in the first half but was ruled out as second half action began.
To start the third, the Suns threw Golden State a bit of a curveball with a box+1 defense, which helped cut the Warriors’ lead to 16 in the early stages of the second half.
After a Golden State surge, Phoenix’s 13-2 run near the end of the quarter cut the Warriors’ lead to 12, which prompted another timeout from Kerr.
The Suns ultimately found themselves down 92-83 entering the fourth quarter thanks to 34 points from Booker, who sank all eleven free throw attempts from the stripe.
Meanwhile, Golden State had seven turnovers in the third.
With Booker on the bench to start the fourth, Golden State found their rhythm and extended their lead to 16 in the opening minutes thanks to a 15-3 run.
Grayson Allen gave the Suns a bit of hope, hitting a step-back three to get Phoenix’s deficit to under ten with five minutes remaining.
In spite of a late 12-3 run by Phoenix, Dillon Brooks was assessed a technical foul from the bench with under three to go – giving Golden State a pair of points that would prove to be too much for the Suns as the final buzzer sounded.
The Suns return home for a Thursday night matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers.