Phoenix Suns take on the Warriors – First Half Analysis
The Golden State Warriors entered the court of the Oracle Arena on the back of a gritty defensive display against the Chicago Bulls. For the Phoenix Suns on the other hand, there haven’t been many upsides to their defensive performances in away games this
season.
On Monday night though, the two teams apparently switched roles as the Suns marched to a 62-45 advantage by half time. Phoenix went on the charge right from the tip off. Alec Biedrins got on the scoring log first to give the Golden State Warriors a 2-0 lead.
Vince Carter then slipped one from the free throw line to get the Suns started. He followed with a three-pointer less than a minute later and Phoenix were well on their way to an 8-0 spurt that gave them the early impetus.
David Lee tried to stop the assault with a reverse slam dunk shot, but Phoenix got even more charged up. Channing Fyre banged one down from long-range to rattle up another 12-2 surge, which he eventually capped with a ripper from downtown. The blow-out spurts
completely caught the Warriors off guard as they slipped to a 20-6 deficit inside the first six minutes of play.
The Suns continued to pile on the pressure and a 9-4 run in the dying minutes of the frame sparked them to a 33-17 first quarter lead.
The Suns started the second frame in the same manner as they finished the first. The only difference this time though, was that the Warriors offence also started to keep pace. The Warriors led by David Lee and Monta Ellis matched the Suns shot for shot and
at the midway mark got to within 15 points of the surging Suns. The visitors though again broke free, increasing their advantage to 19, before Stephen Curry nailed a jumper seconds before the buzzer to make it 65-42 at half time.
The Phoenix Suns were led by Grant Hill until the break. Hill scored 12 points while Mickael Pietrus came off the bench to score a similar number of points, which included 3-of-4 from long-range. Channing Fyre also stood out with 11 points, all of which
came in the first quarter.
For the Warriors, Monta Ellis and David Lee started to turn on the heat after a first quarter meltdown. Lee had 16 points while Ellis chipped in with 10. The Suns though, shot at 50 percent from both within and beyond the arc, which proved to be the ultimate
difference. With the Suns ahead by 17 at the midway mark, the stage is set for a rare away win for them.
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