Photo credit: @warriors

By: Ana Kieu

Monday was game day for the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns at Oracle Arena. There was no reported cases of the Mondays in Oakland.

Prior to the game, Steph Curry spoke to the media on the support of Warriors fans, saying, “It’s a special place. The Bay has supported us. Oakland has supported us, and to know that these types of events, where you can bring some of these fans that might not get access to the games throughout the course of the season for whatever reason. You just want to enjoy that environment. You could see all the kids that came out, just going crazy for us just doing practice drills and what not and having some fun, bringing some kids on the court.”

The Warriors’ starters featured Kevin Durant, Kevon Looney, Damian Jones, Danuel House Jr. and Stephen Curry. The Warriors had their game faces on, but the final score–a 117-109 loss to the Suns–didn’t display that.

The Warriors made a statement in the first quarter with Curry’s three-pointers along with an astonishing moment where Curry refused to settle for three points and racked up a four-point play instead.

Despite Curry’s efforts, Golden State trailed Phoenix 40-32 at the end of the first.

Curry continued showing off his awesome skills in the second quarter, but Durant also shined as he moved without the ball with 5:18 left in the quarter. The Warriors merely outshot the Suns 25-21 in the quarter.

That being said, Golden State caught up, but they weren’t quite there yet, as they trailed Phoenix 61-57 at halftime.

Warriors’ second-year power forward and center Jordan Bell put in work in the third quarter. Bell attracted some attention to himself by putting some points and collecting some rebounds for the scoreboard. The Suns, however, poured in 38 points in the quarter, which seemed to perplex the Warriors, who were the home team tonight.

After three quarters, Golden State trailed Phoenix 99-87.

The Warriors outshot the Suns 22-18 in the fourth quarter, but Golden State’s attempts for a comeback fell short as Phoenix took the game 117-109. Curry led six Warriors in double-figures with 23 points and four assists. Durant had 12 points, five rebounds and five assists. Damian Jones and Kevon Looney each had 11 points in their starting assignments. Thompson, Green and Andre Iguodala all had the game off to rest.

The Warriors lost to the Suns, but there was a bright spot, as Golden State got a great glimpse at the 2018 No. 1 draft pick Deandre Ayton. Ayton put on an impressive show with a team-high 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting, seven rebounds and two steals in 27 minutes.

Notes: Tonight’s giveaway was a Curry bobblehead that featured the former Davidson Wildcat in his outfit from the 2018 NBA Championship parade alongside the three Larry O’Brien trophies he has played a role in capturing.

This upcoming season will mark Steph Curry’s 10th season as a member of the Golden State Warriors. Curry reportedly seems to think that his previous injuries are now behind him.

“It’s probably one of the best summers I’ve had in terms of my prep work going into a year,” Curry told NBA.com. “So I’m excited about what that’ll mean on the court.”

Up Next: The Warriors head to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to take on the Lakers in a nationally televised game on Wednesday, October 10 at 7:30 pm PT on ESPN.