Booker’s Brilliance: Suns Secure 119-116 Victory Over Warriors Despite Late Drama and Draymond Green’s Ejection

On Tuesday night, the Phoenix Suns defeated the Golden State Warriors 119-116 thanks to 32 points from Devin Booker and 16 from Bradley Beal, who returned from a back ailment.

Devin Booker looks at Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal

Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors was sent to the bench in the third quarter for a Flagrant 2 foul for a blow to the face he delivered to Jusuf Nurkic. The Warriors were led by Stephen Curry’s 24 points.

Beal made a baseline jumper with 1.9 seconds remaining to give the Suns a lead of 88-87 heading into the fourth quarter. With under four minutes remaining in the game, Phoenix went on a 12-0 run, with points coming from a reverse slam by Booker and a trio of points by Jordan Goodwin (steal, pass, and dunk).

Devin Booker and Kevin Durant wearing orange Book 1's.

With 1:30 remaining, the Warriors were down 114-113, but they came back to tie the game at 115-114 with 15 seconds to go. The Suns took a three-point lead after Booker made two free throws, and Curry then missed a three-point attempt.

Devin Booker dribbles.

The game was ultimately sealed by Beal’s two free throws. For the season, the Suns have a perfect record against the Warriors.

With seven assists and twelve field goals, Booker was unstoppable. In the end, Nurkic had 17 points, 13 boards, and 7 assists.

Green was benched in the third quarter for the 18th time of his career—more than any other active NBA player.

Bradley Beal shoots basketball

At the start of the third, Green and Nurkic became entangled in a positional battle. After appearing to lose his footing just a little, the Golden State forward for some reason spun around and whacked Nurkic across the face.

Though he collapsed to the ground in an instant, Nurkic got back up and continued to play. After reviewing the play, the officials decided to remove Green for a Flagrant 2 foul.

Just over a month has passed since Green’s five-game NBA suspension for November’s confrontation in which he put Minnesota Timberwolves forward Rudy Gobert in a headlock.

Suns Win: Warriors 116. Suns 119. with photo of Bradley Beal

Beal made his season debut in the fourth game played since November 12th. A low back issue has plagued the three-time All-Star since October.

Kevin Durant, Jamal Booker, and Bradley Beal—the Suns’ big three—have yet to play in a game together this season. On Tuesday, Durant sprained his left ankle, causing him to miss his second consecutive game.

Devin Booker dunks, while Yuta Watanabe jumps while cheering.

Even though the Warriors’ bench players scored 80 points, they weren’t enough to save the game. Among the double-digit scorers were Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski, Jonathan Kuminga, Chris Paul, and Dario Saric. Twenty were Podziemski’s.

With 2.5 seconds remaining before halftime, Curry made a 3-pointer to put the Warriors up 56-53. In the first half, Booker scored 13 points for the Suns and Curry scored 16 for Golden State.

Devin Booker reverse dunk