Warriors continue to struggle against Suns

In what many call a preview of a Western Conference playoff matchup, the Suns and the Warriors came into Wednesday night’s game with expectations of climbing the standings with a quality win over a rival. The Phoenix Suns entered the game in sole first place of the Pacific Division with a record of 8 wins and 5 losses. The Golden State Warriors are yet to win a game on the road this season at a 0-7 record.

Normally, we are used to seeing the Golden State Warriors outshoot their opponent from the three-point line, but tonight’s game was different. The Suns shot 52.5% from three, while the Warriors 42.9%. The Suns outrebounded the Warriors 47-40 and created 17 turnovers and most importantly held Golden State to 24 points in a crucial third quarter. Even with those statistics, Warriors’ Steph curry still scored 50 points on 7 of 11 from three-point range in 36 minutes. This was Curry’s 11th 50-point performance in his career but wasn’t enough to keep the Suns down and out. It seemed as though every time Curry scored, the Suns came right back and scored easily. Golden State could not contain the Suns as their starting lineup all contributed in multiple ways, Devin Booker scored 27 points and 9 assists, career high for Cameron Payne 29 points and 7 assists, Mikal Bridges 23 points, 9 assists, and 9 rebounds, Deandre Ayton 14 points and 7 rebounds. Keep in mind this victory for the Suns came without their floor general, Chris Paul. The Suns showed an incredible balance of production on offense and showed they can weather the storm with any team in the NBA

For the Warriors to succeed on the road there must be a formula for a victory. Besides Curry, not too much help came from Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Jordan Poole, or even Andrew Wiggins. The lack of depth is starting to show, and coach Steve Kerr has noticed it for the past few games, “I think for right now, we are just scattered. It’s a pickup game. It’s a pickup game out there. “ The Warriors look to bounce back Friday night against the New York Knicks. The Suns will travel to Utah to play the Jazz on Friday night that will be a fight to take over the top spot in the Western Conference.