San Francisco – Chris Paul’s former team bested him for the Warriors home opener. Golden State seemed to have the best chemistry during the preseason but failed to make crucial shots and get rebounds for tonight’s 108-104 loss to the Phoenix Suns.
Stephen Curry scored 27 points but stayed in foul trouble. The first unit struggled in keeping up with the Suns and Devin Booker who finished with 32 points. Kevin Durant who received a standing ovation scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Curry began his 15th NBA season tonight, extending his franchise-record mark for most seasons played. Among active NBA players, he has the longest tenure with a single team. He became the 16th player in NBA history to spend at least 15-consecutive seasons with the same franchise.
He made a three-pointer for the 246th consecutive regular season game, extending his NBA-record streak (began on 12/1/18 at DET).
“Chris is so good, I mean the way he controls the game, hits big shots when you need him, nine assists,” said Kerr. “He gives us a different dimension now just with his point guard mentality. So it’s going to be really fun to coach him and have him with our guys, and we’ll start figuring out little nuances and actions we might want to use with him. But he’s just a great player and fun to have him on our side.”
“I thought he was great,” Kevon Looney said. “He played really well. He fit in with our offense and he changed the pace for us with a different look. He was able to slow down when we got a little chaotic. He definitely had a great preseason and training camp. This is not a surprise, and we are going to need him to be good all year.”
Moses Moody recorded a career-high three steals (prev. two, 03/28/22 at MEM)… He tallied 11 points, last season he posted 12 games of double-figure scoring.
“It does. Just being out there, a lot of the stuff you’ve seen before, so you know what to do in certain situations,” said Moody. Being on a team with as many veteran guys that communicate and talk a lot, you just pick up a lot, so it’s definitely been slowing down.”
Yes, it does. It’s just comfortable being on the floor. It’s all not completely figured out yet with Dray (Draymond Green) coming back and everything, so we’re still figuring out what exactly that lineup looks like. But it feels comfortable out there with the guys I’ve been on the floor with.”
Tonight marked the 12th season together for Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, a mark tied for the second-most seasons by a trio in NBA history with Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish (Boston, 1980-1991). They trail only Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker (14 seasons with San Antonio, 2002-2015). Golden State tallied 40 points in the third quarter. Last season they posted 40-or-more points in a quarter 20 times, the most in a single season since recording 24 in the 1961-62 season (franchise record).
PREGAME:
The Golden State Warriors host the Phoenix Suns for opening night and Chris Paul’s former team will be his first matchup as a Warrior. Head coach Steve Kerr gave his thoughts on his debut during his pregame press conference.
ON CHRIS PAUL’S REGULAR SEASON DEBUT AS A WARRIOR:
“It’s going to be exciting. Obviously our fans know Chris so well, nice to have him in on our side instead of the opponent’s side. We’ve always just had so much respect for him and we’ve had so many battles. What I like about Chris is the way he manages possessions and understands that every possession matters. It’s a dynamic that will be good for our team. So he’s a great addition and will be a little strange for our fans to see him wearing our jersey but I think everybody will be excited because he’s such a great player.”
ON IF THE CLOSING LINEUP IS DECIDED AHEAD OF TIME OR BASED ON FEEL:
“It will be feel. We’ve already had that talk with the team. We’ve got a lot of guys, especially when we’re fully healthy, we’ve got a lot of guys who are capable of closing, including Dario (Šarić), including JK (Jonathan Kuminga), guys who if they are playing well and if the group they are with is functioning we just stay with that group. It doesn’t mean people are going to be happy every night, but our guys understand that depth is really a big factor for our team, it’s one of the strengths for our team, if you’re going to be committed to the group and to the success of the group. It will make for some tough decisions at times for us but I think our team is aware that this is a good problem to have and we have to deal with the individual stuff without letting it affect the team.”
Stephen Curry enters his 15th season as a Warrior and his pregame warmups is still the same, he never misses!
