The Phoenix Suns will play the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night, both teams hoping to turn things around after losing to the Brooklyn Nets at home this week.
The game may feature a rare matchup between Olympic teammates Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, both of whom have recently dealt with injuries.
Durant helped the Suns start the season strong at 8-1, but he missed seven games in a row due to a strained calf, and Phoenix went just 1-6 without him. He returned to help the Suns blow out the Los Angeles Lakers 127-100 on Tuesday, scoring 23 points. Durant then scored 30 points the next night against the Nets, but it wasn’t enough to stop a 127-117 loss. After the game, Durant pointed out a stat he felt was crucial to winning. “That’s the game,” he said after looking at the box score. “I can’t have seven turnovers if we want to win.”
Turnovers have been a bigger problem for the Warriors than the Suns. Golden State has had more turnovers than their opponents in the last three games, and they’ve lost all three.
Curry didn’t play in the Warriors’ 105-101 home loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday due to sore knees. However, he’s had at least three turnovers in 10 straight games, including three each in losses to the San Antonio Spurs and Nets, which started their current losing streak after a strong 12-3 start.
Curry’s absence gave Pat Spencer, a former lacrosse player who switched to basketball, a chance to play. Spencer, who joined Golden State after transferring to Northwestern, impressed coach Steve Kerr with a six-point, four-rebound, and three-assist performance against the Thunder. “Fantastic,” Kerr said. “You love to see a guy just come in and play with great force and energy, and push the ball, and find shooters … He just plays the game. I thought Pat changed the game; as soon as he got out there, the game finally opened up for us. We started to move the ball.”
Curry is expected to return for the game against Phoenix, which will be the first time the two teams meet this season.
Curry and Durant were teammates for the Warriors for three years, winning championships in 2017 and 2018, and coming close to a third in 2019 before Durant and Klay Thompson were injured during the Finals against the Toronto Raptors.
Since Durant left for the Nets after the 2019 Finals, the Warriors have faced his teams 19 times. Curry and Durant have only played against each other in six of those games, with Durant’s teams winning four times — twice with the Nets and twice with the Suns.
Curry has outscored Durant 157-135 in those six matchups.
The Warriors and Suns haven’t met in the playoffs during this time. In fact, the last time Golden State faced Phoenix in the postseason was in 1994, when Curry was 6 years old and Durant was 5.
