“That was my one wish for my birthday is to secure a win and we ended up doing that,” Devin Booker said.
The Phoenix Suns made it a memorable birthday for the 23-year-old as the team dominated the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night in San Francisco.
Aron Baynes kicked off the celebration with a tough-two inside over Draymond Green, followed by a three-pointer in corner for the Suns’ first five points. But this was just the beginning for the bruiser and, more importantly, just the start of the Suns fiery first quarter.
With 9:13 on the clock, D’Angelo Russell knocked-down a three to give the Warriors a 10-9 lead. The Warriors didn’t score another field goal until there was just 1:46 remaining in the first. The Suns locked-in on defense, disrupting the passing lanes and allowing no easy shots while catching fire offensively, raining from beyond the arc and making the Warriors pay for turnovers.
Throughout the eight-minute stretch, the Suns went on a 30-1 run, holding the Warriors to only one single free throw made. They closed out the quarter up 43-14 with Baynes and Booker already in double-digits. Their 29-point lead was the largest lead at the end of the first quarter in franchise history (previously 24-point lead at Utah on Jan. 5, 1994).
The Suns didn’t slow down in the second quarter as rookie Cam Johnson continued their hot start by draining a three-pointer on their first possession. They piled on another 29 points and went into halftime leading 72-46.
While the Suns scoring dipped coming out of the break, their defense remained strong as they held the Warriors to just 21 points in the third quarter. The Warriors gave a slight scare of a comeback in the fourth as they opened up on a 16-2 run, but ultimately the Suns closed out the game and secured the win with a 121-110 victory. The Suns now hold a 3-2 record on the season.
KEY STATS:
The Suns ball movement played a critical role in the victory as they had 33 assists on 44 made field goals.
Booker tied Tom Chambers for the fifth most 30-point games in Suns history with 65.
Baynes continued his dominant play of late as he has notched 10-plus points in a career-long four straight games.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Booker: 31 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal
Baynes: 24 points, 13 rebounds, career-high 7 assists, 3 blocks
Dario Šarić: 16 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, career-high 5 steals
Ricky Rubio: 14 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal
Cam Johnson: 12 points, 4 rebounds
Kelly Oubre Jr.: 11 points, 7 rebounds, 1 block
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:
BOOKER ON BAYNES AND ŠARIĆ: “Those guys are unbelievable. They’ve helped my game out a lot with the screens that they’re doing. They’re a lot bigger than their position. So, sealing their guy inside, getting those second chance points. I can’t stress the screens enough, getting me open. Stretching the floor at the same time. Usually you don’t see bruisers shooting threes and Aron Baynes is for sure doing that.”
BAYNES ON STEPH CURRY’S INJURY: “I feel terrible for what happened to Steph. It's unfortunate. You never want to see someone go down and get hurt, let alone be a part of it. Best wishes to him and hope for a speedy recovery.”
BAYNES ON COACH’S MESSAGE: “I think it comes back to the message coach gave us last week is the next right thing. It's not so much you're trying to go out there and win the game straight away. You're trying to go out there and do the next right thing for the team. Whatever that is. Whether it is being shift position and help on defense or whether it's move the ball. Something sacrificial or if you're in the right position, you got to step up and knock down the shot. So whatever it is, you gotta do the next right thing. If we can get to the mentality as a group where that's what we're all focused on every single possession, then we're going to be looking pretty good.”
COACH ON THE TEACHING MOMENT: “It’s great to teach off of a win. Wins are too hard to come by in this league. So, we're thankful for that. Our guys know that we have to sustain the momentum better than we did. And those are tough games to play in. When you get up by a big amount, you naturally let your guard down. It's a great teaching moment for us. They talked about it before I even came into the locker room, so it says a lot about them, but I'm glad we got this.”
WHAT’S NEXT:
The Suns will continue on their road for their next matchup as they travel to Memphis to tip-off against the Grizzlies on Saturday. Be sure to catch the action on Fox Sports Arizona.