Phoenix Suns end NBA record 18-game losing streak to Warriors
Golden State’s topsy-turvy, three-peat quest took another ugly turn on Sunday night as they lost to the Western Conference’s bottom team. Devin Booker scored 13 straight Phoenix points during a decisive fourth-quarter stretch and finished with 37, and the Suns snapped the NBA’s longest active losing streak to one opponent at 18 games by beating the Warriors 115-111.
The Suns defeated Golden State for the first time since a 107-95 victory on November 2014, and earned their first road win in 20 tries against a Western Conference opponent this season. The Warriors are now 4-6 over the last 10 games.
“Let’s not forget last year was way worse than this, way worse than this, with injuries and things like that. We have pretty much everybody healthy,” Stephen Curry said. “We talked about the things we need to get better at going into the playoffs and just haven’t done it. It’s an uncomfortable feeling, which I think we like right now. We’re getting challenged, we’re getting teams’ best shots.”
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Klay Thompson’s two free throws with 1:04 to go made it 111-108. Andre Iguodala secured a rebound after two missed Suns shots but Curry missed on a three with 23 seconds left. Booker then converted two free throws to seal the game.
Kevin Durant had 25 points before leaving with a bruised ankle midway through the fourth on a night his teammates struggled from near and far. The cold-shooting Warriors couldn’t overcome Booker’s late onslaught in losing to lowly Phoenix. “Probably the worst loss of the season, unfortunately,” Thompson said.
Thompson added that the Warriors need help from the home fans too. “I know it’s not the playoffs, but it is our last go-around at Oracle,” he said. “Least you can stand up or something when we make a good play, especially in the beginning. We need that energy, especially this time of the year. It’s hard to conjure up energy every single night ‘cause you’re looking forward to the playoffs and that run.
“So we expect our fans to kind of bring that from the jump ... It’s like us, though. You can’t bring it every night, but still it helps.”
Phoenix coach Igor Kokoskov knew limiting turnovers would be a key to the Suns staying in the game. Booker had six on Sunday and Kelly Oubre Jr five of the Suns’ 14. The Suns played only 21 hours, 30 minutes later with the Daylight Saving Time change.
“It shows a lot about us. After All-Star break, most people could fold and it’s happened in the past years here,” Booker said. “We came in after All-Star break as a team and it was like we’re going to finish this thing off the right way. We’ve improved in so many different ways.”
There was some comfort for the Warriors after the team with the best record in the NBA, the Milwaukee Bucks, lost to the San Antonio Spurs 121-114 on Sunday.
