PHOENIX -- The fabulous Golden State Warriors road show plays the Talking Stick Resort Arena on Sunday afternoon, when the two-time defending Western Conference champs take on the winless Phoenix Suns.
After losing their season opener in Oakland to the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night, the Warriors picked up where they left off last season away from home, beating the New Orleans Pelicans 122-114 on Friday for their 63rd win in the last 83 road games.
Included in that impressive run were 135-116 and 112-104 wins at Phoenix last season while the Warriors were going 34-7 on the road, recording seven more wins than any other team.
Golden State has yet to find the range from beyond the 3-point arc this season, compiling a 26.2-percent success rate that's one of the worst in the league.
But that didn't stop Golden State's three top marksmen -- Kevin Durant (30), Klay Thompson (28) and Stephen Curry (23) -- from combining for 81 points in the win over New Orleans.
"We're going to have to get so much better," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after the win. "We have so much talent, but talent is not going to be enough. We have to be smart, have to be tough, just grow as a team.
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"Fortunately, we have a long time to do it."
The Suns have longer-term plans. They've had three teenagers on the court at the same time in their opening two losses, a dynamic that will change Sunday, when Devin Booker, the starting shooting guard, turns 20.
Rookies Marquese Chriss (19) and Dragan Bender (19) are left to carry the flag for the teen-age crew, along with Derrick Jones, who has yet to see action in the regular season.
Already the Suns have seen improvement, going from a 113-94 home loss to the Sacramento Kings to a 113-110 overtime defeat on the road against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
"The first game, I couldn't really sleep on," Suns point guard Eric Bledsoe noted after Friday's game. "But this game, we made great strides."
You could say the same for last season. The Warriors thumped Phoenix by 19 and 25 points in their first two meetings, but then had to sweat out eight- and seven-point victories later in the season.
A big reason for the Suns' improvement last season was the development of Booker, who totaled six points on 2-for-9 shooting in 35 minutes in the blowouts, but then helped keep the Suns competitive with 15- and 18-point games in the final two meetings while logging a total of 79 minutes.
Of course, those matchups occurred before Golden State signed Durant in the offseason.
The gold-medal-winning forward already is living up to his two-year, $54.3 million contract, becoming the first Warrior since Wilt Chamberlain to debut for the team with two 20-point, 10-rebound efforts.
History says Durant's streak could be in jeopardy against the Suns. While he's scored 20 or more points in 24 of 30 lifetime meetings with Phoenix, he's recorded double-figure rebounds just six times, including once in three matchups last season.
