PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns got a much-needed 131-122 win over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night, winning their home opener for the 2026-27 season.
It didn't come easy for Phoenix against a decimated Warriors squad, though the Suns captured their first win of the regular season.
Three instant takeaways:
Devin Booker Reminds Everybody Exactly Who He Is
Devin Booker received plenty of flack for his perfomance in Portland, and perhaps rightfully so. Even if the box score looked fine, Booker's inability to elevate the Suns was anything but inspiring.
Saturday night at Mortgage Matchup Center needed a bounce-back game from the Suns' all-time leading scorer, and he delivered just that.
Booker finished the night with 43 points on 17-25 shooting to pair with seven rebounds and seven assists.
When the Suns needed him most, he came through — and if weren't for Booker's heroics, we'd probably be talking about another Phoenix loss.
Struggles vs. Depleted Warriors Team is Alarming
Entering tonight, the Warriors had all of Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, Kristaps Porzingis and Brandin Podziemski (among others out). Golden State could only field 11 players to play in Phoenix.
There's not many opportunities throughout the NBA regular season for a team to truly stroll into a night with an easy win being expected, though that was very much so (and reasonably) the case for the Suns tonight.
Quite frankly, Phoenix should have been up by 30 at halftime. Yet the Suns struggled out of the gates, trailing Golden State at the end of the first before creeping out to a three-point lead entering the break. The Suns led by as much as ten in the third quarter before the Warriors went on a run to close the gap.
Phoenix could never truly put this Warriors team away, and that's concerning to say the least.
Rebounding Once Again Isn't Close to Good Enough
In their season-opener, the Suns were out-rebounded 56-39 in Portland, but in fairness to the Trail Blazers, they're a fairly strong team on the glass.
Still, it was uncharacteristic of the Suns to be dominated in the way they were down low, especially with the amount of effort the team shows on a nightly basis. That again was the case tonight.
Last season, the Warriors were a bottom-ten team in terms of rebounds per game. However, six of their top seven rebounders from last year either aren't with the team anymore or were ruled out tonight.
Yes, the Suns are down Mark Williams and Oso Ighodaro — though this should been a game where Phoenix rebounded extremely well.
The Suns were ultimately out-rebounded 44-42, and as Phoenix improves to 1-1 on the year, this has to be at the top of their list of concerns.
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