In hindsight, the first quarter between the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns told us everything we needed to know. Steph Curry went ballistic, with a patented Curry Flurry. The team was spirited, and clearly played hard. And the defense, after about three interesting minutes, decided to hibernate.
Curry scored 17 points and only missed one shot. And the Warriors were losing when the buzzer rang.
That ended up being the entire game. The next 36 minutes of action followed the exact same blueprint. Curry playing like an MVP. Everyone else playing with energy, but forgetting how to play defense.