The Phoenix Suns tied a franchise record with 17 straight wins after taking down the Golden State Warriors Tuesday night.
In a playoff atmosphere at the Footprint Center, the Suns beat the Warriors 104-96 on Tuesday.
In addition to tying the 2006-07 Suns’ record, the win also bumped up the Suns’ record to 18-3, matching the Warriors for the best record in the NBA.
No team led by double digits throughout the game, though the Suns found themselves facing the bigger headwind after star guard Devin Booker exited midway through the second quarter with a hamstring injury.
His absence only created an opportunity for other players to step up, like Jae Crowder and Mikal Bridges.
Jae Crowder hit back-to-back shots to turn a one-point lead into a six-point lead late in the game.
JAE CROWDER IS FEELING IT.@Suns 97@warriors 92
3 minutes left on TNT pic.twitter.com/VbjSpWSGoO
— NBA (@NBA) December 1, 2021
Landry Shamet helped put the game away for good after that.
Landry Shamet.
Bullseye. 🎯@Suns in control late on TNT pic.twitter.com/92OcygC5gb— NBA (@NBA) December 1, 2021
Deandre Ayton ended up leading the Suns with 24 points on 11-of-19 shooting, and 11 rebounds, while Chris Paul had 15 points, 11 assists, and five rebounds.
The more impressive performance came on defense, as the Suns held Stephen Curry, currently making noise for a third MVP, to only 12 points on 4-of-21 shooting.
It was the worst shooting night of his career in a game with at least 20 shots.
Granted, the Warriors were also without James Wiseman, and Andrew Wiggins was bothered by back spasms.
Despite all of that, the Phoenix Suns look all the bit as good as they looked last season.
The Suns and Warriors will play again on Friday night in San Francisco.