NBA scores: Suns beat Warriors 108-104 on Opening. Night

The Dubs didn’t have enough defense down the stretch as the Suns won 108-104.

• By
  
  Brady Klopfer
  
• on October 24, 2023 10:00 pm

The Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns were put on the two-game NBA Opening Night slate for a reason, and they delivered. After the defending-champion Denver Nuggets put a beatdown on the Los Angeles Lakers to kick off the 2023-24 season, the Dubs and Suns proved to be where the drama and excitement was.

But excitement doesn’t always lead to victory, and the Warriors will start the season with a losing record, falling 108-104 in a game that came down to the wire.

It was an exciting affair from the get-go, as the teams traded buckets and highlights in the opening minutes. At first the Warriors looked undersized, getting repeatedly cooked on the boards, and they showed some first-game nerves with the amount of open looks that they missed.

As such, Phoenix strung together early 10-0 and 7-0 runs, and jumped out to a 24-12 lead. But Golden State came roaring back into it behind a bench unit of Chris Paul, Gary Payton II, Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga, and Dario Šarić, which instantly proved to be better than any reserve group that the 2022-23 team put out. Moody was electric on both ends of the court, and a few steals and timely buckets pulled the Warriors to an even 28-28 after the first quarter.

The good times continued into the second quarter, as a 23-6 Warriors run that spanned the two frames gave them a 35-30 lead early in the second. But in a reversal of last year, the team struggled once they turned things back to the starters. Led by deadeye shooting from Devin Booker and endless hustle courtesy of Josh Okogie — plus some slick moves from our old friend Kevin Durant — the Suns ended the half on a 25-10 run, and carried a 15-point lead into the break.

But the third quarter Warriors showed up, as they so often do. The starters had new life, with Steph Curry in particular taking over. The team showed heart and hustle that were absent in the first half, and a swarming defense, as a 21-4 run turned a blowout deficit into a lead. Again the bench unit, led by Paul and Moody, stomped on the Suns’ reserves. CP3 took over to end the quarter, and the defensive effort, while not perfect, was extremely pesky.

A 40-19 victory in the quarter was a strong tell as to just how good this team can be, and it gave them a six-point lead going into the fourth.

But that’s where issues arose. Curry fell into his one poor habit, making silly fouls, and had to head to the bench early. The Suns rattled off 11 unanswered points, and quickly retook the lead. The teams went back and forth and back and forth as we neared an end.

When the NBA announced the schedule a few…