OAKLAND -- After a weekend of self-flagellation on the road, the Warriors can pat themselves on the back.
Returning to Oracle Arena on Monday night from a 1-1 road trip featuring two ultra-tight games, the Warriors got well with a 123-103 rout of the Phoenix Suns.
Stephen Curry scored 29 points, and Kevin Durant added 22. Klay Thompson tossed in 16 before leaving in the third quarter with what the Warriors described as a “mild left ankle sprain.”
Here are three takeaways from a game that never was in doubt:
Here come the triples: Worried about the lack of 3-point shots by the team that made its name off the 3-ball? Worried even more about that 32.4-percent accuracy?
Relax.
The Warriors made a season-high 14 triples Monday night, Curry accounted for less than half of them. Through the first three games, he was responsible for 16 of the team’s 24 makes from beyond the arc.
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Six different players signed on from deep, with Curry leading with six (on 13 attempts). Jonas Jerebko was 3-of-5 and Durant 2-of-3. The Warriors were 14-of-37 (37.8 percent) for the game.
Klay Thompson continues to struggle, missing five of his six 3-point attempts on Monday. He made 5-of-8 inside the arc, indicating he may be getting closer to finding his range.
Sharing is caring: Coach Steve Kerr decried the lack of passing on Sunday night in Denver and stayed with that theme prior to the tipoff against the Suns.
The Warriors heard him, loud and clear, and they responded like champs.
They entered the evening averaging 25.7 assists per game; they had 24 in the first half. The Warriors finished with 33 helpers, easily their season high.
Six Warriors had at least three assists, with Curry and Green tying for team-high with eight.
The Warriors have made a habit of leading the league in assists. They’ve done it in each of the last four seasons. They were eighth entering Monday. A few more games like this one, they’ll start rising.
Cleanest game yet: The Warriors were averaging 27 fouls per game and nobody was pleased about it.
They dropped the total to 24 -- with eight coming in a garbage-time fourth quarter -- and nobody had more than four (Green).
The reduction in fouls achieved the much-desired goal of keeping the opponent off the foul line. The Suns shot 18 free throws, by far the lowest total this season against the Warriors, who were giving up an average of 36 per game.
This is a good sign insofar as the Suns may not a very good team, but they do have potent scorers. Devin Booker, TJ Warren and rookie center Deandre Ayton accounted for 75 points. They combined for only 11 free throws.
