Phoenix Suns 3 Keys to Victory over Golden State Warriors

Exhausted, but still motivated, the Phoenix Suns staved off a late run by the first place Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night, winning the contest 113-107 for their 16th straight dub. But as impressive as that feat was, an even greater hurdle now lies before the team, one with solid gold encrusted around it.

Boasting the only record better than the Suns’ right now, the Golden State Warriors line up as Phoenix’s next opponent, leading them out West by just one game. Stephen Curry continues to put on broadway-like performances, tied with Kevin Durant atop the scoring department with 28.6 points per game.

But the Suns carry their own smoking pistols into this one. Over his past five games, Devin Booker finds himself averaging 27.4 points and 4.2 assists per game while shooting 53.7 percent from the field.

Those marks eerily reflect his piping hot playoff numbers, but also include an improvement on what Booker struggled with significantly last year—shooting from beyond the 3-point arc.

Across that same time span, Booker is shooting 53.3 percent from downtown on 6.0 attempts per game. He fully resembles a three level scorer, and a more terrifying force to bother opposing defenses.

But aside from Booker, Chris Paul continues to slice up defenses each night, leading the league with 10.1 assists per game. Mikal Bridges looks like a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, coming off a seven steal performance vs Brooklyn, and the team’s bench looks lethal as well.

Phoenix obviously wants to keep all these components rolling, but several other things are at stake ahead this contest against Golden State. Should the Suns win, they takeover the West’s top stop, and tie their franchise-best winning streak.