Devin Booker and Tyus Jones stole the spotlight from a Kevin Durant-Stephen Curry showdown with a combined 46 points and 18 assists Saturday night and the Phoenix Suns held off the visiting Golden State Warriors 113-105.
Durant shot just 7-for-20 but still managed 21 points and added 10 rebounds for Phoenix, which won for just the second time in its last eight games.
Curry went 8-for-21 overall and 3-for-10 from deep for 23 points for Golden State, which dropped its fourth straight.
The Suns created their winning margin in the first half, running up a 66-49 lead behind 13 points from Grayson Allen, 12 from Booker and 11 from Jones. The Suns went 14 of 21 on 3-pointers in the half.
The Warriors got within 85-78 with 1:04 remaining in the third quarter, but then went scoreless the rest of the period and added just eight points in the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter, falling behind 103-86.
It was still a 15-point game after Durant hit a jumper with 3:35 to play, but Golden State made one last push, using a 13-3 flurry to get within 108-103 on Curry’s interior hoop with 1:11 to go.
But Booker capped a game-high, 27-point performance with four straight free throws, making him 8-for-8 for the game, and the Suns kept the visitors at arm’s length throughout the final minute.
Booker and Jones each had nine assists. Jones had 19 points, making seven of his nine shots overall and four of his five 3-point attempts.
Allen chipped in with 17 points and Royce O’Neale 11 for the Suns, who made only four 3-pointers in the second half yet finished 18-for-35.
Andrew Wiggins added 18 points for the Warriors, who made only 14 of their 40 shots from distance. Draymond Green put up 13 points to go with seven assists, while Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski added 12 points apiece and Buddy Hield 11.
Curry and Podziemski each had seven rebounds.
–Field Level Media
