The Suns bench scored 58 points and took Phoenix to their fourth consecutive victory, giving them the second best record in the NBA by going to the All-Star Break.
Phoenix overcame the Warriors in painting by a total of 62 to 38, and had 31 assists against 22. While Golden State ran a few races as expected, the Suns had full control for most of this game.
Devin Booker was limping due to a knee injury earlier in the game and it didn’t look normal. Ultimately, it didn’t matter due to the excellent bench play and well balanced offensive attack. This will be something to be monitored during the All-Star Weekend with your participation in the Three-Point Contest and the All-Star Game.
It was a slow start for Phoenix, with six initial twists and serious problems taking Deandre Ayton to the bench in the first eight minutes.
It was not the start they wanted, but the bank came in and gave them a spark to separate them to close the first period. Abdel Nader came in and made a big impact on both ends of the floor to light the spark.
The quick strong closing of the quarter by the second unit gave them an advantage of 11 points in the second quarter, with 34 to 23.
In the second half, the Suns bench crowd really decided to continue, extending the advantage to 45-29 in the first four minutes of the period, forcing a Warriors timeout.
Cam Payne played with incredible energy and pace, similar to his bubble game.
The Warriors made a quick run to reduce the lead to 13 before a Cam Payne three put them back on track to close the first half.
Booker went down on his knees with Juan Toscano-Anderson, and it certainly looked like he didn’t have the same lift or mobility afterwards.
The starters were finally rescued by the bank crowd in the first 24 minutes of basketball, when the Suns entered the range with a 62 to 51 lead. Despite the injury, Booker led all of the Suns scorers with 10 points in the first half.
The Suns came out with a much clearer offensive run early in the third quarter, building a 16-point lead that led to the Warriors’ timeout.
The Warriors continued their cluttered game and stayed around for most of the third quarter, so Chris Paul went on a quick 5-0 run to increase his lead to 14 before the bank unit checked in.
The Phoenix overtook the Warriors by 25 to 22 in the third quarter.
Cam Payne continued to play at an excellent pace as soon as he checked in for Chris Paul, making striking plays on both sides of the court.
The Suns finally created a definitive split at the end of the fourth and were able to unload the bank, including Jalen Smith and Jevon Carter.
The bank’s strong game, including Dario Saric, Abdel Nader, Cam Payne and Frank Kaminsky, helped the Suns win despite the players’ unstable game.
Cameron Payne- 17 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block and it was over-22 in the box score.
Next: The All-Star Break
Chris Paul will participate in the Skills Competition, Devin Booker in the 3 Point Contest and each will participate in the All-Star Game as well.
Chris Paul will be on Team LeBron while Devin Booker will play on Team Durant.