NBA: Suns’ streak finally burns out as the Warriors win big at home
San Francisco, California - The Golden State Warriors got some quick payback against the Phoenix Suns in their Friday night rematch, snapping the NBA’s longest winning streak in the process.
The Warriors dominated the Suns 118-96 to get the league’s best record back in record time, having only lost it to Phoenix on Tuesday night.
Golden State had some revenge on their minds, and it certainly showed at home against a team that had an air of invincibility heading into Friday.
The first half featured more of the intense battling that was seen during their first matchup as Golden State took the lead after the first quarter, holding on to stay above Phoenix by three at halftime.
The second half saw the Suns cool off, falling behind by 12 after three quarters and even further through the fourth thanks in part to 19 total three-pointers.
With the loss, the Suns scored under 100 points for the first time in 10 games and suffered their first loss since October 27, snapping their franchise-record 18 wins in a row.
The player spotlight
After a poor showing in Tuesday night’s matchup, Golden State’s sharpshooter Steph Curry was back in the zone in his rematch against the Suns. And as usual, when the 33-yea-old is fit and firing, the Warriors seem out of this world.
Again, Curry did most of his damage from behind the three-point arc, draining six of his team’s 19 total long-range shots.
He shot slightly better than the last game, hitting eight of his 20 attempts, including 6-for-11 in threes for 23 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
The big picture
The Suns managed to get past the Warriors in their first meeting without their leading scorer, Devin Booker.
But in Friday night’s game, his absence was acutely felt and for the first time this season, Phoenix looked like it was missing a key cog in the machine.
Granted, Golden State is one of the league’s best teams, but if the Suns start malfunctioning without their star man, they’re going to hope in a big way that Booker can get through his hamstring injury a lot sooner, rather than later.
On Saturday, the Warriors stay at home to play the Spurs while the Suns will be back at home to get their shot at the Spurs on Monday night.
Cover photo: IMAGO/ZUMA Wire