The Golden State Warriors defeated the Phoenix Suns on Sunday to kick off the final two-game stretch of the season.
Following a narrow 126-120 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans at Oracle Arena last Saturday, the Golden State Warriors looked much more like themselves on Sunday night, easily taking care of the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena 117-100 on the tail end of a back-to-back series.
The Dubs started the night hot off of a 22-point first quarter (9-11 FG) from Klay Thompson, which led to a 33-29 lead for the Warriors going into the second quarter. They continued to put the pressure on Phoenix heading into halftime, establishing a 64-50 lead.
Golden State cooled off a bit in the second half, dropping in a 27-22 third quarter. The Suns came back to within 10 near the start of the fourth, but the reigning NBA champions were able to successfully hold them off with another hot streak from Thompson.
The Warriors push their regular season record to 58-23, breaking their two-game losing streak. They’ll head to Vivint Smart Home Arena on Tuesday to face the Utah Jazz in what will be Golden State’s final game of the 2017-18 regular season.
👀 @QCook323 activates the spin cycle. (@NBCSAuthentic) pic.twitter.com/Lp1P0b2GNW
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) April 9, 2018
.@KlayThompson 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/6v1YVFQvZW
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 9, 2018
Sunday night against the Suns
Thompson paced the Golden State Warriors with 34 points on 14-of-23 shooting from the field and 6-of-13 shooting from behind the arc, adding in three rebounds, one assist and one steal in 34 minutes.
Fresh off a 41-point performance against the Pels, Kevin Durant recorded a near double-double with 17 points, four rebounds, nine assists and one steal.
He shot 6-of-11 from the field, 2-of-4 from long range and 3-of-4 from the free throw line.
Draymond Green stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block in 30 minutes, while Quinn Cook finished with 14 points, six rebounds and three assists on 6-of-13 shooting.
Next: Warriors sign Cook, waive Casspi
JaVale McGee and Shaun Livingston came off the bench for a combined 21 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals on 9-of-14 shooting.