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Warriors snap Suns' historic 18-game win streak in dominant fashion ahead of Christmas battle

Finally, 18 games and more than a month later, the Phoenix Suns’ win streak has come to an end.

The Golden State Warriors flew past the Suns, 118-96, on Friday night at the Chase Center, ending Phoenix’s historic win streak and avenging their loss in Arizona on Tuesday.

The Warriors held the lead throughout nearly the entire contest outside of the opening minutes, and took a three-point lead at the break. Golden State pushed their lead to 12 by the end of the third, and then used a huge 11-2 burst midway through the third — highlighted by a Juan Toscano-Anderson and-one to give them a 20-point lead, their biggest of the night so far.

There, with the game in full control, the Warriors just rolled through to the 22-point win without issue.

Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors
Stephen Curry and the Warriors snapped Phoenix's 18-game win streak on Friday night. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Stephen Curry led Golden State with 23 points while shooting 6-of-11 from the 3-point line. Andrew Wiggins added 19 points, and Gary Payton finished with 19 off the bench. As a team, the Warriors made 19 3-pointers in the win while shooting nearly 49% from behind the arc.

Deandre Ayton led Phoenix with 23 points and six rebounds, and Chris Paul finished with 12 points and eight assists. The Suns’ win streak, which was the longest in franchise history, had dated back to their win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Oct. 30.

Christmas Day battle looming

Though Suns star Devin Booker missed the game while recovering from a hamstring injury he suffered on Tuesday, this series split sets up what should be a tremendous battle on Christmas Day.

The two best teams in the Western Conference should be fully healthy by then — and Klay Thompson is ramping up for a return that feels imminent. He was even running a full workout before the game on Friday night, so it's clear he's nearly ready to officially get back on the floor for Golden State after his Achilles and ACL injuries.

While Friday night turned into a bit of a blowout at the end without Booker available, it was certainly competitive for a long time. Tuesday's game, which went the other way, was just an eight-point contest. With both Booker and Thompson back in the lineup, the Christmas rematch at the Footprint Center is bound to be an entertaining one — if not a preview of the Western Conference Finals.

Juan Toscano-Anderson of the Golden State Warriors

Juan Toscano-Anderson destroys JaVale McGee

Either way this game shook out, Juan Toscano-Anderson was going to leave the Chase Center with a win.

Near the end of the first quarter, Toscano-Anderson threw down his best dunk in a long time.

After saving a broken play at the halfcourt line, Toscano-Anderson cut through the lane and caught a pass from Draymond Green before rising up and over McGee for the dunk — which sent the Warriors’ bench into shambles.

Toscano-Anderson, who is in his third season with the Warriors, finished the night with a season-high 17 points off the bench and missed just a single field goal.