PHOENIX - - The Golden State Warriors held it close despite being short-handed, setting the stage for a player to take the stretch down.
One did - and it wasn't Stephen Curry. Otto Porter Jr took home late game honors.
Curry had 33 points, Porter scored seven of his 19 points during a crucial late stretch, and the Warriors beat the Suns 116-107 on Saturday to take the top spot in the NBA from Phoenix.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said in a sarcastic tone, "I designed every play, I arranged every aspect of it perfectly." "Otto was great. He just added a lot to our team with his shooting from that position and his rebounding and defense."
Golden State reached the short-handed desert, missing three of their top four scorers for health and safety protocols: Andrew Wiggins, Damian Lee and Jordan Poole.
Curry took most of the load, overcoming a mediocre shooting night to break 20 points for the first time in nine Christmas games. He scored 10 for 27, including 5 for 16 for 3, to help the Warriors end Phoenix's 15-game home winning streak.
Porter hit a step-back 3 and a pair of jumps in the span of 1:02.
"The coach designed a couple plays that freed me," Porter said. "Did a good job of finding me, was able to find a rhythm."
Keeping it close until the closing minutes in a raucous home environment, Surya had his chances. They couldn't pull it off, failing to score more than the final 3:01 and losing for the third time in 28 games.
Chris Paul had 21 points and eight assists, taking some slack from leading scorer Devin Booker, who held on to 13 points in a 5-for-19 shooting. Deandre Ayten added 18 points and Michal Bridges added 17 points.
"He made those breaks. He played harder than us," said Sons coach Monty Williams. "It's rare when I say that about my team. He made us consistently overwork for 50-50 balls, timely aggressive rebounds, diving out of bounds to save the balls. ,
The two teams with the best NBA records only played in the third Christmas game in which both teams had a winning percentage of at least .800.
Playing on Christmas is nothing new for the Warriors. It was their ninth consecutive Christmas Day game and 11th in 12 seasons. Sun, once a regular on the Christmas program, was in his first place since 2009.
Both teams put up an after-the-present offensive in the footprint center, each with a dunk and 3-pointer sending oohs and aahs to the footprint center.
Curry had 11 points in the first quarter and Peyton mounted a massive counterattack as the Warriors took an early 10 point lead. The Sons resumed it after scoring 15-3 in the second quarter and taking a 62-58 halftime lead on Paul's last-second 3-pointer.
Teams continued to trade 3s and baskets in the transition, neither able to achieve a separation until Golden State went short to go 107–99.
Sun pulled within two, but Porter hit successive jumpers and hit a long 3 to extend Golden State's lead to nine.
"They wanted more of it and they loved it," Booker said. We just have to bear this loss and move on to our next match.
MISSING COACHES
The only four players weren't in Golden State's health and safety protocols. Four of the Warriors' coaches also dropped out, forcing Kerr and his staff to shuffle responsibilities.
"It was really bizarre to remember all those people," Kerr said. "The group did a really good job. It's a weird time for a lot of reasons, but I've never seen four coaches get out at once."
Tip ins
Warriors: Reserve G Moses Moody was also out in health and safety protocols. ... Drummond Green was called out by Booker for a technical glitch in the second quarter, arguing for a push-off. ... Curry has made a 3-pointer in 156 straight games, which is one of the NBA records he held for 2014–16. He has scored at least two 3-pointers in 15 straight games, the longest active streak in the NBA with Phoenix's Cam Johnson.
Sons: F/c Frank Kaminsky (knee), F Abdel Nadar (knee) and F Dario Sarik (knee) all out. ... Paul was called up for a technical fault in the third quarter after one of the officials aggressively delivered the ball after a non-call on a drive into the basket. ... Johnson made 2 for 3 to 5 to continue his streak of making at least two to 15 games.