The Suns and Golden State Warriors — two teams in various stages of recovery — will meet in Phoenix on Saturday, when one will break into the win column.
The Warriors collapsed late in a 111-108 loss to Memphis in their home opener Friday, giving up 17 straight points after De’Anthony Melton’s 3-pointer gave them a 106-94 edge with 3:47 left.
“Everything went wrong,” guard Stephen Curry said after the Warriors fell to 0-2 for the first time since 2020-21.
The Suns hit a similar roadblock in Portland on Wednesday, when they gave up the first 21 points in a 124-83 loss in the Trail Blazers’ home opener.
“We just absolutely got blitzed,” Suns coach Jordan Ott said.
Curry scored 24 points against the Grizzlies after finishing with 23 in a 127-105 loss at the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. But he has yet to find his range, going 12-of-30 from the field and 5-of-17 from 3-point range.
Before the Memphis game, Warriors coach Steve Kerr outlined a new substitution pattern for Curry as the team seeks to offset the loss of scoring big man Kristaps Porzingis (undisclosed health issue) for the foreseeable future.
“He’ll play the first seven or eight minutes in the first quarter and then come back at the top of the second for a shorter shift,” Kerr said of Curry. “That’s how we are starting this year, and we’ll see how it goes. It’s always flexible.”
Curry played the first seven minutes of the first quarter Friday and played another seven, including the first 3 1/2 in the second quarter. He had 14 of his points in 15 second-half minutes.
The Suns, who eliminated the Warriors in the play-in round 111-96 on April 17, found no rhythm on either side of the ball in Portland. They trailed by as many as 52 points in that game.
They shot 35.7% from the field and were outrebounded 56-39. The Trail Blazers made 19 of 47 3-pointers and were in the penalty before the Suns made a field goal.
Devin Booker scored 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting, but Dillon Brooks, Jalen Green and newcomer Miles Bridges were a combined 11-of-34 from the floor. The Blazers led 43-12 after the first quarter.
“Everything went wrong,” Booker said, echoing Curry. “We have a lot to learn from on tape. They were killing us with their pace. It’s an uphill battle when you are down 30 points. You feel like every shot has to go in. We just have to get off to a better start.”
Suns second-year center Khaman Maluach started Wednesday, although both Maluach and third-year player Oso Ighodaro likely are to share post minutes while Mark Williams (left shoulder) is out. Maluach had two points and six rebounds in 17 minutes.
“Throwing young guys into the fire … that’s what you see, and he’ll learn from this,” Ott said. “We need him. We need him to grow. He will continue to grow. We need him to take a step. He’ll take steps.”
Ighodaro left the Portland game in the first half with an apparent right hip injury and did not return. Off guard Luke Kennard (left knee) did not play against the Blazers. The status of each player for Saturday’s game is unknown.
Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski and rookie Yaxel Lendeborg had 18 points against Memphis. Backup big man Charles Bassey (knee) missed his second straight game.
–Field Level Media
