Booker scores 27, Suns top Warriors 112-106

By DAVID BRANDT

PHOENIX (AP) — Devin Booker scored 27 points, Kelly Oubre Jr. added 15 and the Phoenix Suns held on for a 112-106 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.

Phoenix won for just the second time in eight games and goes into the All-Star break with a 22-33 record. The Suns have already surpassed last season’s total of 19 wins.

Phoenix led 87-76 after three quarters and never trailed in the fourth. The Warriors pulled to 110-106 on a 3-pointer by Andrew Wiggins with 45 seconds left, but Damion Lee missed a 3 on the next possession that would have cut the deficit to one.

Golden State has lost four straight and goes into the break 12-43, the worst mark in the NBA. The Warriors have struggled all season after losing star guards Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry to injuries.

The Warriors lost on Wednesday despite shooting 51% from the field. They were hurt by 22 turnovers. Wiggins led Golden State with 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting.

Phoenix had a 58-50 halftime lead. Booker led the Suns with 18 points in the first half, while Marquese Chriss had 12 for the Warriors. Chriss played the first two seasons of his career with the Suns before being traded to the Rockets in 2018.

CURRY PROGRESSES

Curry is taking part in some of the non-contact portions of practice as he works back from a broken left hand, such as “offensive 5-on-0 stuff,” coach Steve Kerr said.

The Warriors plan another medical update for the two-time MVP on Feb. 28. Curry has said he hopes to play next month as planned if all goes well.

“He’s coming around,” Kerr said after shootaround earlier Wednesday. “Right now everything’s going smoothly and he’s just trying to build his conditioning base and trying to keep getting better.”

There’s not a specific date for when Curry will return to contact drills.

SPECIAL TRIP

Kerr trekked to Tucson on Tuesday night to visit with his Arizona college coach, Lute Olson.

It’s always still special for Kerr to return to the desert, where the former Suns general manager posed for post-shootaround photos with about a dozen ASU athletes from different sports earlier Wednesday.

“Always enjoyed coming back to Phoenix to play and just in Arizona in general,” Kerr said. “It’s just special to come back here, always great to come back during the winter when the sun’s shining and get outside and smell the desert air. It’s a beautiful place.”

TIP-INS

Warriors: Chriss finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds. He shot 7 of 11 from the field.

Suns: Phoenix signed forward Jonah Bolden to a 10-day contract. Bolden played 26 minutes for the short-handed Suns, scored six points and grabbed seven rebounds. The 24-year-old previously played two seasons with the 76ers, including 44 games during the 2018-19 season. … C Deandre Ayton missed his second straight game with left ankle soreness.

UP NEXT

The Warriors are off for the All-Star break and don’t play again until Feb. 20 at home against Houston.

The Suns return from the break Feb. 21 at Toronto.

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