Stephen Curry goes off, Warriors rout Phoenix Suns: By the Numbers

The Phoenix Suns routed the Golden State Warriors in their first meeting early this season.

As the Suns closed the first half of Monday’s matchup with the Warriors on a 9-0 run to tie the game, it appeared they may have a shot at repeating history.

Then, the second half happened. More specifically, Stephen Curry happened.

Curry’s 25 second-half points paced a half in which the Western Conference-leading Warriors outscored Phoenix 52-34 en route to a 98-80 victory Monday at US Airways Center.

The Suns trailed throughout the first half but rallied late in the second quarter behind five points from Eric Bledsoe to pull even at 46-46 at halftime. But Golden State opened the third quarter on a 25-9 run and didn’t let Phoenix pull closer than nine points the rest of the way.

Curry scored 36 points on 14-of-24 shooting from the floor, including 7-of-13 from 3-point range. He added six rebounds, five assists and four steals for Golden State (50-12).

The Suns routed the Warriors 107-95 in their previous meeting in Phoenix on Nov. 9, but Klay Thompson missed that game with a hand injury. A healthy Thompson made his presence felt Monday, as he added 25 points on 4-of-8 shooting from 3-point range.

Bledsoe led the Suns (33-32) with 19 points, but Phoenix missed fellow starting guard Brandon Knight in the second half. Knight left the game late in the second quarter with an ankle sprain and didn’t return.

Here’s a look at how the Suns fell to Curry & Co. on Monday, by the numbers:

4

In the Suns’ first game since his controversial comments about Phoenix fans, Markieff Morris received a nice ovation during pregame introductions — but fans didn’t have many opportunities to cheer him during the game. Markieff scored just four points on 1-of-8 shooting, as he spent a large portion of the game on the bench in foul trouble.

5

Returning from a one-game absence with an ankle sprain, second-year center Alex Len was effective for most of Monday’s game, contributing 10 points and 11 rebounds in 28 minutes for his fifth double-double in his last 10 games.

7

Curry made more 3-pointers Monday (seven) than the Suns made as a team (four).

11

T.J. Warren continues to impress when he gets the opportunity to do so. The rookie forward matched his career-high with 11 points Monday on 5-of-9 shooting in 24 minutes. Warren scored all eight of his points in the fourth quarter of the Suns’ loss at the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday.

13

Knight was having a nice game before the ankle sprain derailed his evening. The guard, who the Suns acquired from the Milwaukee Bucks before the trade deadline, scored 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor, including 2-of-2 shooting from 3-point range, in just 13 minutes of action.

21

The Warriors outscored the Suns by a 21-point margin (33-12) in fast-break points, including 22-0 to open the game.