The Warriors played the back end of their back-to-back in Phoenix. The Warriors would be without Klay Thompson as he sprained his hand and missed his first game ever due to injury. As expected, Steph Curry would step up and orchestrate the Warriors. In case you missed the game, here is our instant recap:
1st Quarter
Leandro Barbosa would take Klay’s spot in the starting lineup along with Steph Curry, Andrew Bogut, Draymond Green, and Harrison Barnes. Green starts off scoring for the Warriors with a midrange jumper. Curry got on the board with a deep three from the top of the arc which is followed by a finger-roll floater. Thompson’s replacement Barbosa made an open three-ball from a beautiful Curry pass to give the Warriors a 14-8 lead. Curry hustled for the ball, stole it from Plumlee and as you can predict, sank a jumper. Midway through the first, Steph already had 10 points and three assists. Both teams continued to trade missed three pointers until Green made one from the top of the arc. Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston make their way into the game for Barnes and Barbosa. Curry got his fifth assist when he found Ezeli in the lane for an easy lay in. The game’s pace has played a role with the amount of turnovers; at the end of the first the Warriors had 10. Curry led with scoring and sharing with 10 points and five assists as the Warriors led by 30-28.
2nd Quarter
The second quarter with Barnes, Barbosa, Ezeli, Livingston, and Iguodala. The second unit is allowing the starters adequate rest by playing together and maintaining the lead. Barbosa had seven points on 3 of 3 shooting. At the 7:18 mark, Steph and Bogut found their way back to the court. Both teams have forced each other to turn the ball over consecutively. The Warriors were moving the ball well but the Suns rotated to prevent any easy baskets. Neither team can put together a stretch to run away with the game. Noticeably, there were numerous amounts of defensive three seconds violations. In a very choppy quarter, the Warriors took a double digit lead with three minutes left in the quarter. Warriors ball movement led to an open Curry three. On the inbound, Curry stole the ball for a spectacular right hand reverse layup. Behind Steph’s 22 first half points and 7 assists, the Warriors led 58-47 over the Suns.
