Warriors vs. Suns: Devin Booker scores 43 as Phoenix beats short-handed Golden State 131-122

The Golden State Warriors showed up in Phoenix without most of their stars, and Devin Booker made them pay. Booker scored 43 points on 17-of-25 shooting, and the Phoenix Suns beat the Warriors 131-122 on Saturday night, Oct. 24, in their home opener.

Golden State, playing for the third time in four days, rested Stephen Curry (right knee), Draymond Green, Al Horford and Brandin Podziemski (all listed with low back issues), the Associated Press reported. The loss dropped the Warriors to 0-3 for the first time in 19 years.

Warriors vs. Suns final score

The Suns are 1-1 after winning their home opener for the fifth straight season, according to the AP. The game drew 17,071 fans at Mortgage Matchup Center, per NBA.com.

Box score leaders

Suns: - Devin Booker: 43 points (17 of 25), 7 rebounds, 7 assists - Miles Bridges: 16 points - Dillon Brooks: 15 points, 5 assists - Luke Kennard: 11 points, 3 of 5 from 3-point range

Warriors: - Yaxel Lendeborg: season-high 26 points, six 3-pointers - De’Anthony Melton: 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting

How Phoenix pulled away

The Suns started cold, making just 1 of 12 3-point attempts in the first quarter, and trailed 25-22 after one. Booker carried them from there. He had 19 points by halftime, when Phoenix led 57-54, then scored 17 more in the third quarter. Jordan Goodwin’s 3-pointer just before the buzzer made it 102-92 entering the fourth.

The Warriors hung around. A Will Richard corner 3 cut the gap to seven with about three minutes to play, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, but Kennard had already pushed the lead to 117-102 with six minutes left, and a late Booker midrange jumper closed it out.

NBA.com’s game summary showed 14 lead changes. Phoenix scored 27 fast-break points to Golden State’s 10 and won the points-in-the-paint battle 60-48.

Is Steph Curry playing? Why the Warriors were short-handed

Curry did not play. Besides the four resting players named by the AP, the Chronicle reported that Jimmy Butler, Moses Moody and Kristaps Porzingis were also out injured or ailing, describing about $191 million in roster commitments sitting on the bench. The paper reported that coach Steve Kerr had warned fans during the preseason to check the schedule before buying tickets for back-to-backs, because the roster is older and banged up.

That left a lineup of rookies, two-way players and reserves. Lendeborg had his best half of the season before the break, the Chronicle wrote, and center Charles Bassey, back after missing the first two games with knee tendinitis, gave the Warriors a third-quarter lift. Melton scored 12 in the third.

Where both teams stand

Phoenix bounced back from a 124-83 loss at Portland in its season opener. Golden State’s 0-3 start includes a lopsided opening-night loss in Los Angeles and a Friday loss to Memphis in which it gave up a 17-0 late run, according to the Chronicle.

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