Although Draymond Green would’ve likely rather spent it at home, it was a magical day for the Golden State Warriors on the road.
They had to travel for the second straight Christmas Day game, having been destroyed by Milwaukee on December 25 last season. This time around, things were far different as the Warriors were the ones headed home with the Christmas victory.
The Golden State Warriors went into Phoenix short-handed, and they came out with a win in the biggest day for NBA action until April.
Many didn’t think Golden State would stand a chance. The Suns, a team that managed to get to the NBA Finals last season, is at virtually full strength.
Devin Booker recently returned from an injury, but otherwise, they had their key players suiting up and taking the court. The Warriors, on the other hand, did not. They were missing potentially six role players and at least three starters.
The Warriors didn’t let that hold them back.
They were able to get 14 from Gary Payton II, who is proving to be one of the team’s best offseason additions, 12 from Jonathan Kuminga and 19 from Otto Porter Jr. Stephen Curry obviously led the way, scoring 33, the most in the game.
The Dubs entered the half down 4, losing the second quarter by 10 after winning the first by 6. That was the only quarter they’d lose as the Warriors used a few second-half streaks to pull away, winning by 9. The second half went to the tune of 58 Golden State points to 45 Phoenix points.
The Warriors cemented themselves as both the best and deepest team in the NBA with this performance.
While that can be an opinion, the Warriors didn’t leave much to converse about on that topic having defeated the Suns in 2 of their 3 matchups and now possessing the best record in the NBA at 27-6.
This dominance has helped give Klay Thompson ample time to return as well. It’s been a near-perfect start to the season for Golden State. With that in mind, they’ll look to keep that dominance going on Tuesday against the Denver Nuggets.