Booker’s 43-Point Home-Opener Record Sinks Warriors 131–122 as Golden State Falls to 0–3

PHOENIX — October 24, 2026 (final): Devin Booker scored 43 points, setting a Phoenix Suns home-opener scoring record, as Phoenix defeated the Golden State Warriors 131–122 on Saturday night. The result gave the Suns their first win of the 2026–27 NBA season and left an injury-hit Warriors team 0–3.

Booker shot 17-for-25 from the field and added seven rebounds and seven assists. The performance mattered beyond the box score: Phoenix was trying to respond to a 41-point opening loss in Portland, and Booker provided the reliable shot creation needed to steady a team that had looked vulnerable early.

Watch: official NBA highlights from this exact game

Game highlights: Phoenix Suns vs. Golden State Warriors — October 24, 2026 (NBA.com video distributed by Yahoo Sports). Booker’s scoring performance: Devin Booker’s 43 points against Golden State (NBA.com video distributed by Yahoo Sports).

Both exact-game videos were published October 25, 2026 UTC. An official, exact-event YouTube upload with independently verified publication date and embeddability was not established at publication, so the original rights-holder’s syndicated video pages are linked rather than presenting an unrelated or unverified YouTube embed.

How Phoenix took control

Golden State led 25–22 after the first quarter, but Phoenix moved ahead 57–54 at halftime. Booker scored 17 in the third quarter, when Jordan Goodwin’s buzzer-beating three gave the Suns a 102–92 lead. The Warriors refused to fold; their younger lineup stayed within reach through rebounding and outside shooting. But Phoenix ultimately had the sharper late-game answers, with Luke Kennard’s fourth-quarter three stretching the margin to 117–102.

Booker’s 43 points surpassed the Suns’ previous home-opener scoring mark of 37, set by Charles Barkley in 1992, according to the NBA. The distinction is specific to home openers, not an overall franchise single-game record.

Why the Warriors’ third straight loss needs context

Golden State was without Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Draymond Green and Al Horford, according to postgame reporting. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg led the Warriors with 26 points and nine rebounds; De’Anthony Melton added 25 points, and Brandon Williams scored 20. Those contributions kept a depleted roster competitive against a high-scoring Booker night.

The bigger warning sign is not simply the 0–3 record. It is how difficult it becomes to control the final stretch when the primary creators and defensive organizers are absent. Golden State hit 17 of 39 three-point attempts and converted 19 offensive rebounds into 26 second-chance points, yet could not overcome Phoenix’s offensive efficiency. That contrast suggests the Warriors have useful depth, but depth alone cannot consistently replace top-end decision-making.

What comes next

Both teams return Monday, October 26: the Warriors visit Denver, while Phoenix travels to Oklahoma City. For the Suns, the immediate question is whether the offensive rhythm around Booker can survive tougher defensive matchups. For Golden State, the priority is availability and late-game cohesion, not an early-season verdict on its young reserves.

Sources and verification

Featured image: an illustrative basketball photograph by Davide Aracri / Unsplash License. It is archival illustrative imagery and does not depict this game.

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