Warriors race past Suns for easy 123-103 victory

The Phoenix Suns transition defense was a runway and the Golden St. Warriors were clear for takeoff.

The Warriors romped to a 70-47 first half lead while the Suns half-heartedly strolled behind them up and down the court.

At halftime the Warriors led...

Fast break points: 24-2

Rebounds: 23-14

Assists: 24-12

They also shot 60.9% from the field.

It would have been even worse, but their three ball wasn’t falling until Stephen Curry, who had a game high 29 points, sent a flurry of them at the Suns in the third quarter.

Curry finished with six threes, and the Warriors starters got the fourth quarter off as they cruised to a 20 point win.

Damian Jones seemed like a promising match-up for DeAndre Ayton, but Jones responded to the challenge by scoring nine of the Warriors first 15 points and playing with much more energy. Ayton looked rushed at times throughout the game, but mostly settled down after struggling in the first quarter.

It seems like numbers will always come easy to Ayton, considering he had 20 points, 14 rebounds and five assists without even playing particularly well, but once he comes into his own his real impact will be felt beyond the box score.

Devin Booker (28 points) hit a pair of threes from the parking lot and continues to stake his claim as one of the most gifted scorers in the league, but the defense is still a problem and nine turnovers is a little ridiculous.

Let’s not lay the defensive woes all at Booker’s feet, either. It takes a total team “effort” to get boat raced to the tune of 34 fast break points.

T.J. Warren continues to impress. Warren poured in 27 points on 12-17 shooting in just 24 minutes. He also dialed in three more deep balls, including one from the top of the key, reinforcing that his improved distance shooting might be here to stay.

Other than Booker and Warren the Suns really struggled to create their own offense. It’s almost like there should be a position that facilitates scoring for other players. They could call it a “point guard” or something like that. It seems like every team would want one.

Trevor Ariza was 2-12 from the field and Josh Jackson and Mikal Bridges were 1-5 each. The Suns three point shooting stayed cold, going 9-33 from deep. Players not named Booker or Warren combined to go just 3-19.

The way the other wings are playing it’s going to get pretty tough to make a case that Warren shouldn’t be playing 30+ minutes on a nightly basis.

The Suns host LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers this Wednesday then head out on the road for a back-to-back set this weekend against the Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder.

October comes to a close when the San Antonio Spurs visit Talking Stick Resort Arena on Halloween.

Nothing will come easy in a loaded Western Conference, so the Suns will need to improve on these last two outings to keep this season from going sideways on them.