NBA: Phoenix Suns stop Stephen Curry and Golden Warriors for 17 straight wins | sports

The Phoenix Suns are the team of the moment in the NBA. That condition was disputed with the Golden Warriors and the Arizona team won 104-96 in the direct duel between the two best teams this season.

The Suns’ 17th consecutive victory allows them to lead the Western Conference with a balance of 18 wins and 3 losses, the same balance as the Warriors in an outstanding start to the season for both formations. We won’t have to wait long for them to jump off the table. They will meet again at dawn from Friday to Saturday, on the Warriors’ court. The Bay team’s casualties, especially those of Klay Thompson and James Wiseman, and the defense over Stephen Curry, who could only score 12 points with a weak 4-of-21 shooting from the field, including 3 of 14 in the triples, limited their performance in the game played on the Suns court.

Curry is the second leading scorer this season in the NBA with an average of 27.8 points, only surpassed by Kevin Durant, with 28.6. The marking that Mikael Bridges subjected Curry to was decisive. Bridges was the player who spent the longest time, 41 minutes, only pitched four times and scored two points. Jordan Poole led Golden State with 28 points, while Wiggins was also not at the usual offensive level and added 10 points. Draymond Green contributed 8 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists. Otto Porter was the only bench player with a significant offensive contribution, 16 points.

Chris Paul (15 points and 11 assists), Deandre Ayton (24 points and 11 rebounds), Jae Crowder (14 points and 6 rebounds) and Cameron Johnson (14 points) managed to score enough to win in a tougher game than expected because, in addition to the good time of the Warriors, they had to overcome Devin Booker’s injury. The Suns’ best offensive player was injured and was only able to contribute 10 points during the 15 minutes he was able to play. The Arizona team’s shooting efficiency allowed it to overcome its rebounding weakness, with 16 more sacks for the Warriors. But the Bahia team had a lot of trouble overcoming the Suns defense and lost 22 balls, ten more than their opponent.

The Suns, defeated by the Milwaukee Bucks 4-2 in the finale last season, maintain the same block and the same line of play. His 17th win equals the franchise record, obtained in the 2006-2007 season. Ayton scored 24 points and Chris Paul added 15 points and 11 assists.

Even without Booker, the Suns led 56-54 at halftime and 80-78 in the fourth quarter. The equality held until Landry Shamet hit a triple, off an assist from Paul with 54.4 seconds left. The Suns were better in the closing stages of the game and the Warriors had their seven-game winning streak snapped.

“With all the mistakes we made and how bad I threw, it was a close game until the stretch,” Curry said. “I know Booker got hurt, but yeah, it was a good lesson and we have to learn from it, understanding the intensity and focus we need to beat such an opponent.” The Suns have not lost since October 27, when a triple by Harrison Barnes decided the game they played against the Sacramento Kings.

You can follow EL PAÍS DEPORTES in Facebook and Twitter, or sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.

–