Charles Barkley was very quick to make his judgement on the Golden State Warriors during the 2023-24 NBA season opener between them and the Phoenix Suns. During half-time, Barkley simply wrote off Stephen Curry’s Warriors as they were trailing. He was quick to conclude the game in favour of the Suns.
The Suns were quick of the blocks and after a tight first quarter, they played really well in the second quarter and had built a 15-point lead at the break.
Sharing his half-time analysis, Barkley felt that the game was done and the Suns have started their season with a win. Although eventually the Suns managed to win the clash 108-104 but they had to fight hard.
“I try to tell you guys. Everybody can say what they want to, I saw ’em fools on TV today, ‘We are not gonna underestimate the Warriors’. The Warriors are cooked,” Barkley said at half-time.
The Warriors showed that they were far from done as they scored 40 points in the third quarter and restricted the Suns to only 19. They also took the lead into the final quarter and at one stage it looked like the Warriors would walk away with a win. However, retaliation from the Suns and a late basket from Jusuf Nurkic saw them seal the clash with only very few seconds left on the clock.
Barkley’s prediction was right at the end, but it was far from a comfortable win as the game got interesting in the last quarter with the Warriors leading the game. The Suns showed great mental strength to erase their memories of the third quarter and returned stronger in the fourth.
The Phoenix Suns were led by their talisman Devin Booker, who scored 32 points, eight assists and six rebounds. While Kevin Durant finished with a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds. New-signing Jusuf Nurkic also had a double-double of his own with 14 points and 14 boards.
Meanwhile, for the Warriors, Stephen Curry finished with 27 points but he could only manage to shoot 4-14 from the three-point line. Chris Paul on his Warriors debut scored 14 points and nine assists while Klay Thompson also had a poor shooting night as he only managed 15 points.
