‘Twas the night before Thanksgiving as Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns extend their win streak to five games after defeating the Golden State Warriors 123-115 to spoil Chris Paul’s return to Footprint Center.
The Suns also got the better of the Warriors when they first matched up back on Oct. 24 in San Francisco.
Paul was traded to the Washington Wizards last summer as a part of the deal that brought Bradley Beal to Phoenix. The Wizards made no hesitation when they traded him to the Golden State Warriors, since the Wizards are attempting to rebuild.
Since joining the Warriors, Paul has averaged 9.8 points, 7.7 assists per game while shooting 39.8% from the field.
The first half of play was quite evenly matched before the Suns started to take control in the later stages of the 2nd quarter. Led by Durant’s 18 first-half points, the Suns went on a 23-5 run to close out the half.
With 20 seconds left before halftime, Paul received 2 technical fouls and was ejected by 29-year veteran referee Scott Foster, cutting his night short.
Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr also received a technical foul in the heated exchange between Paul and Foster.
The beginning of the second half was mostly controlled by the Suns. They led by up to 23 at one point.
But the Warriors seemed determined to make a comeback, cutting the deficit down to just three points, but to no avail.
This impressive comeback was spearheaded by the Warriors’ bench unit. Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins were not on the court during the upturn.
Durant finished the night with 32 points and 8 rebounds for the Suns, and is proud of his team’s ability to close out the 2021 NBA Champions.
“I feel like we played a great game,” Durant said after the game. “That’s a championship organization, so they’re always going to fight to the end, and we respect that. But for most of the game I thought we were in control.”
The Phoenix Suns attempted 52 free throws this game. Drawing fouls was part of head coach Frank Vogel’s game plan.
“We know they foul a lot. They’re one of the highest fouling teams in the league,” Vogel said. “I wanted my guys to really attack the paint and attack the basket, and our guys did that nicely.”
Paul wasn’t the only former Sun that was welcomed back to Phoenix. Dario Saric played for the Suns from 2019 to 2022 after he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, now a member of the Warriors.
Devin Booker, one of his former teammates, was excited to play against him.
“I always enjoy it (facing former teammates),” Booker said. “I used to play one-on-one in practice with him before, and it was tough on me. I’m glad to see him back healthy. He’s moving very well. Dario is somebody I have a lot of respect for.
The Suns have a three-game road-trip coming up and Booker hopes the team can keep this positive energy throughout the excursion.
“It’s always tougher on the road. The odds are more against you and you have to build your own energy throughout the team,” Booker said. “I enjoy hitting the road and the next game is for the In-Season Tournament, which is important to us, so we need to come out with the right mindset.”
Phoenix will travel to Memphis, Tennessee for their next matchup to face the Grizzlies in a crucial In-Season Tournament group-play contest on Friday at 3:00 p.m.
