Deandre Ayton, the Suns’ breakout star of their trip to the NBA Finals a few months ago, put up 23 points, six rebounds and two blocks in the loss.īut, just like the playoffs, the game hinged on role players. Curry went 6 for 11 from 3-point range en route to 23 points, while Chris Paul dazzled with his unique ball-handling and passing acumen, even in a relatively subpar effort. It’s a dope picture, man.”ĭespite the absence of All-Star guards Devin Booker and Klay Thompson, there was also plenty of star power. Whip cream and cherry, sprinkles, all that. Playing for the Warriors,” Toscano-Anderson said after the game. “That’s the best dunk I think I’ve ever had in-game. And once the game starts, there have to be signature, flashbulb moments, like the one Juan Toscano-Anderson delivered over Suns center JaVale McGee toward the end of the first quarter. It comes from the buzz of the arena, the extra cameras on the baselines during pregame, the number of reporters walking the sidelines. Playoff atmosphere doesn’t just come from a raucous crowd - which there was - or the execution of the two teams - which was excellent. It was just one of those tough games,” Suns head coach Monty Williams said afterward. But having attended dozens of Warriors playoff games over the last few years at Oracle Arena, I feel confident saying that if this wasn’t quite a postseason environment, it was as close as it gets in the regular season. The term “playoff atmosphere” is bandied about willy-nilly all too often in the sports world, so it’s prudent to approach the phrase with caution.

With the win, the Warriors improved to a league-best 19-3, moving a half-game ahead of the Suns as both teams continue to break away from the rest of the Western Conference. Before he made his way down the court for his concluding tunnel shot, Curry stopped to take a selfie with a young fan.Īll this to say, this was not a normal, early December, regular-season game.Ĭhase Center was nearly at capacity well before the opening whistle of the Golden State Warriors‘ 118-96 win over the Phoenix Suns, which put an end to Phoenix’s 18-game winning streak and exacted revenge for a Golden State loss in their first matchup just three nights prior. A few minutes later, Curry approached the sideline to converse with his former head coach, Mark Jackson, who was part of the ESPN broadcast team. Midway through a series of corner 3-pointers, his former teammate and current Phoenix Suns assistant coach Jarrett Jack stopped by to exchange pleasantries. SAN FRANCISCO - Steph Curry’s famed pregame shooting routine took a little longer than usual on Friday night.

Night of revenge update