Without Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkić due to injuries, the Phoenix Suns rebounded after an embarrassing loss to the Brooklyn Nets as they came away with a 113-105 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Devin Booker scored 27 points and Kevin Durant clinched a double-double (21 points, 10 rebounds) for Phoenix (11-8). Steph Curry returned from injury and netted 23 points for the Warriors (12-7) who have lost their fourth straight game.
Here are the key takeaways from the Suns beating the Warriors and returning to the win column:
-Even though their injury report had many players named, Jonathan Kuminga (illness), Gary Payton II (right adductor tightness), Stephen Curry (bilateral knee patellofemoral pain) and Andrew Wiggins (right ankle impingement) all were upgraded to active for the Warriors. Former Sun De’Anthony Melton (left ACL sprain) was sidelined and missed his eighth straight game.
-Losing six of their previous seven games, the Suns had to battle the Warriors without Beal (left calf strain) and Nurkić (right quadriceps contusion). Beal returned from a five-game absence on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Lakers before exiting the game Wednesday vs. the Brooklyn Nets with him tweaking one of his legs.
-With both Plumlee and Beal out, Grayson Allen and Mason Plumlee were implemented into the starting lineup. Impressing in his first start of the season, Allen had 17 points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal. Plumlee posted two points, six rebounds, one assist and two blocks in 16 minutes.
-In an early back-and-forth matchup between two Pacific Division foes, Booker created some breathing room with a 10-point first quarter. A key player in the Suns’ win, Booker shot 8-for-20 (40%) from the field and 3-for-8 (37.5%) from the 3 in the ballgame.
-Making a couple of mistakes in quick succession, Suns rookie Ryan Dunn fell into foul trouble as he had three fouls in his first six minutes on the court. Cleaning up his play as the game wore on, the Virginia product notched two points, four rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
-Despite being 37.0% from the field and a horrid 19.7% from 3 coming into the game, Brandin Podziemski put those woes behind him with 10 points in the first half and 12 overall in the Valley. Podziemski shot 4-for-8 (50%) from deep and  2-for-4 (50%) in total.
-The ball distribution has been crisp from the Suns, translating to shooting a remarkable 14-for-21 (66.7%) from 3 and a 66-49 lead in the first half. As a team, Phoenix accumulated 31 assists.
-Clearly dealing with his injury still, Curry’s sharpshooting ability was ice-cold in the first half, going 0-for-5 from the field. Getting hot in the second half, however, Curry got on a roll with 23 points after missing Golden State’s last game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
-The pick-and-roll by the Suns was on full display with multiple players making layup after layup in the paint.
-Setting up his teammates and scoring when given the chance, Tyus Jones was one of the standout players for the Suns throughout the game. With his court vision on full display, he tallied 19 points from 4-of-5 shooting from 3 as well as dishing out nine assists.
-Just when the Warriors looked as if they were down and out, they made a valiant comeback in the second half and mounted the pressure on the Suns. Down by double digits, Curry scored 21 of his 23 points in the second half and five other players were in double digits
-Though it may have been an off-night shooting-wise for him compared to his normal numbers, Durant was able to show off his defense capabilities and his overall game against his former team. Durant shot 7-for-20 (35.0%) and 3-f0r-8 (37.5%) from deep, but he grabbed 10 boards and blocked three shots all on defense.
-The Warriors bench trio of Kevon Looney, Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield combined for 31 of the team’s 105 points during the stretch in which they were fighting back from being blown out.
-As a result of Nurkić sitting out and Plumlee getting limited minutes, Suns rookie Oso Ighodaro played the brunt of the minutes at center and was effective when on the floor. The Chandler native pitched in with six points, eight rebounds and two blocks.
-The Suns finished 38-for-79 (48.1%) from the field and 18-for-35 (51.4%) from 3. The Warriors outscored Phoenix 44-30 in the paint and the Suns turned the ball over 14 times.
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers the Phoenix Mercury, Suns and ASU Athletics for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
