Scheduled
Los Angeles Lakers at Utah Jazz
2026-27 · Regular season
Devin Booker scores 43, a Suns home-opener record, as Phoenix answers its 41-point loss: ‘It’s a win that we needed’
Three nights after a 41-point loss in Portland, Devin Booker shot 17-of-25 for 43 points, the most by a Sun in a home opener, and Phoenix beat a short-handed Golden State team 131-122.
In this article
Devin Booker scored 43 points on 17-of-25 shooting on Saturday, October 24, the most any Phoenix Sun has scored in a home opener, and Phoenix beat the Golden State Warriors 131-122 for its first win of the season. He added 7 rebounds and 7 assists in 36 minutes before a sellout crowd at Mortgage Matchup Center.
The night mattered beyond the record. Phoenix opened the season on Wednesday with a 124-83 loss in Portland, a game in which the Suns never led, and Booker had 23 points in it. Asked about Saturday’s result, he kept it short. “It’s a win that we needed,” Booker said, according to Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic.
Twelve straight in the third
Booker carried Phoenix early, when the rest of the team could not find the basket from outside. The Suns made 1 of 12 threes in the first quarter and trailed by seven in the first half, but Booker had 19 points by halftime and Phoenix led 57-54.
The game turned in the third quarter. Golden State, without seven players, went ahead 73-71 midway through the period. Booker then scored 12 Phoenix points in a row, including his first three-pointer of the season and a four-point play that made it 99-89 with 35.5 seconds left. Jordan Goodwin’s three at the horn sent the Suns into the fourth up 102-92. Booker had 17 points in the quarter alone, and the Warriors began sending extra defenders at him, which opened the floor for his teammates.
Almost all of his work came inside the arc. Booker went 15-of-18 on two-pointers, 2-of-7 from three and 7-of-8 at the line, with 4 turnovers. Through two games he has 66 points.
Help arrives, and a few warning signs
Six Suns reached double figures. Miles Bridges scored 16, Dillon Brooks 15 and Jalen Green 12, while Collin Gillespie had 11 points and 9 assists off the bench. Luke Kennard, back from left knee tendinopathy, made 3 of 5 threes for 11 points in his Suns debut. Phoenix shot 58 percent and finished with 33 assists.
The glass is still a problem. The Suns, playing without Oso Ighodaro (right oblique strain) and Mark Williams (left shoulder surgery), lost the rebounding battle 44-42 and gave up 19 offensive boards to a Warriors team that was missing Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Al Horford and Brandin Podziemski. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg led Golden State with 26 points and six threes, and De’Anthony Melton added 25. The Warriors fell to 0-3.
The full box score is on the Warriors-Suns Game Center, and Booker’s season numbers and game log are on his player page.
What comes next
The 1-1 Suns visit the unbeaten Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday, October 26, at 8:00 p.m. ET. Follow it on the Suns-Thunder Game Center, and see the rest of the roster on the Suns team page.
Join the discussion
0 commentsTalk basketball. Keep it respectful. You can use a name or stay Anonymous. Comments publish immediately.
Be the first to start the conversation.