For their third meeting of the month, the Warriors and Suns once again delighted fans of fine play and basketball in general. And at the end of a mano-a-mano At a high level, Golden State has offered its best victory of the season, in view of its absences and the caliber of its opponent!
The Draymond Green – Stephen Curry pair immediately set the tone for the Warriors. The first was omnipresent and he played with intensity at all times, on both sides of the floor. Distributing 6 assists in 12 minutes, including 3 just for Curry, already at 11 points. Enough for Golden State to take the lead. It then took the entry of an unprecedented five on the “Dubs” side to see the rogue Chris Paul keep his team in the game (33-27).
A dunk from rookie Jonathan Kuminga then put the Warriors at +10, but their lack of bench depth began to show. And JaVale McGee then Deandre Ayton dominated in the racket, while Mikal Bridges set the sights on the shoot, so that the Suns pass a 25-10 to their opponents in the evening, to return to the locker room being ahead in the score (62- 58).
Golden State moved forward after the break, however, starting the third quarter with a 19-9. With Chris Paul and Devin Booker at 2/10 on shots in the period, Cameron Johnson and Cameron Payne came out of their box. The two substitutes for Phoenix have scored 13 points after returning from the locker room, in order to put the two teams neck-to-neck (84-84).
Discreet and well defended after his good first quarter, Stephen Curry finally scored 10 points in the first six minutes of the last act, to put the Warriors at +8. Chris Paul answered him immediately, instigating an 8-2 in favor of the Suns and offering a “money-time” of madness. And while we expected to see Stephen Curry or Devin Booker take matters into their own hands, it was the surprising Otto Porter Jr. who killed the game, with his 8 points in a row to give Golden this surprise victory. State (116-107)!
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– It was Santa Claus disguised as Draymond Green. With 6 of his 10 successful assists in the first quarter, the strong winger delivered gift after gift to take back the aggressive defense of the Suns. As a good conductor, he was able to find Stephen Curry and Gary Payton II in “backdoor”. And despite their lack of outside address, the Warriors were already 9/12 in the racket after 12 minutes. The impact of the 2017 DPOY was therefore felt throughout the match, especially with his always incredible defensive assists.
– Chris Paul gets better with age. The Suns point guard seemed in control for most of the game. He was smart to find faults against the young Warriors, he was skilful at mid-distance and found his partners to make the defense of Golden State pay. He was also the one who led his team’s 8-2 in the last quarter, finding Deandre Ayton under the circle or Jae Crowder at 3 points, to raise hopes for the Phoenix fans. And even if he failed to give the victory to his team, “CP3” continues to be one of the most dominant players in the league in his position, at the age of 36.
– A Warrior can hide several others. Despite the absence of five of his rear / wingers, injured or in health protocol, Steve Kerr was able to count on the good contributions of Otto Porter Jr, Gary Payton II, Jonathan Kuminga, Nemanja Bjelica, and even of a freshly signed Quinndary Weatherspoon for 10 days, to not only be competitive in this match, but above all to win it! Since the start of the season, the Golden State manager has managed to find a way to put all his additional players in value, and they gave it back to him tonight.
TOPS / FLOPS
✅ Stephen Curry. The double MVP had never shone at Christmas but, last night, he started and finished strong, to score 33 points on the clock, 10/27 on shots. A major performance, given the many absentees listed on the Warriors side.
✅ Otto Porter Jr. The Warriors winger scored 11 of his 16 points in the last quarter, most of them in the last five minutes, to offer the victory to his team and confirm his great start to the season.
✅ DeAndre Ayton. With 18 points and 7 rebounds, the Phoenix pivot was once again seen to his advantage against the Warriors racket, although his impact diminished somewhat after the break.
⛔ Devin Booker. The Suns star, who personally remained on 20 consecutive wins, has never been able to find his rhythm. Well defended by Gary Payton II, he forced and finished the game with just 13 points, and 5/19 on penalties.
THE FOLLOWING
Phoenix (26-6): the Suns will try to get the machine going against the Ja Morant Grizzlies on Monday night (3 a.m.).
Golden State (27-6): the Warriors will follow up with a double confrontation against the Nuggets of MVP Nikola Jokic, from Tuesday evening (04:00).
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