Two Games, Two Third-Quarter Takeovers: Curry Lifts the Warriors, Booker Lifts the Suns

November 6, 2026

Curry waited a half, then ended it

For two quarters, this looked like Miami's night to steal. The Heat jumped out 14-4, led 29-26 after one, and had Stephen Curry sitting on seven points and a 2-for-10 shooting line at halftime. The game was tied 53-53, and Golden State's sixth straight win was very much in doubt.

Then the third quarter happened. Curry scored 14 points in the period, hit three three-pointers, and the Warriors outscored Miami 38-23 to take a 91-76 lead into the fourth. He added eight more in the fourth and finished with 29 points on 9-of-19 shooting, 6-of-12 from three, 5-of-5 at the line, four assists and zero turnovers in 28 minutes. Twenty-two of his 29 came after halftime. That is the whole ballgame, right there.

He did not do it alone. Draymond Green scored just two points and still ran the offense, dealing a season-high 11 assists. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg put up 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals. Miami got its production — Davion Mitchell led the Heat with 22 points and eight assists, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 20 points and 14 rebounds, and Bam Adebayo added 18 and 10 — but the Heat fell to 3-6 because none of it survived the third quarter.

And because this is Curry, there was a milestone tucked inside the rout. His 29 points lifted his career total to 26,737, moving him past Oscar Robertson into 17th place on the NBA's all-time scoring list. He has now made at least one three-pointer in 99 straight games. Golden State, at 6-3, is also just the fifth team in league history to win six straight after opening a season 0-3 — a list that now runs from the 1950-51 Celtics to these Warriors. Not bad for a team that looked broken two weeks ago, and doing it while the front office is already dreaming out loud about 2027.

Booker did his damage early — and Phoenix finally exhaled

Phoenix needed this one more than Golden State needed theirs. The Suns came in at 1-5, on a four-game skid, playing the second night of a back-to-back after losing at home to Portland. Devin Booker decided early that the streak was ending. He poured in 23 points in the first half, hit a three just before the break to make it 63-51, and finished with 30 points on 11-of-22 shooting, eight assists and three steals.

Then Phoenix copied the Warriors' script. Booker and Dillon Brooks hit back-to-back threes midway through the third to stretch the lead to 78-60, the Suns won the quarter 33-22, and they took a 96-73 cushion into the fourth. Collin Gillespie's three with 9:20 left made it a 30-point game, the Suns' largest lead of the night. Brooks finished with 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting, Miles Bridges added 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Phoenix shot 17-of-34 from three as a team.

Orlando, to be fair, is running on fumes. The Magic played without Paolo Banchero and Jalen Suggs, and still got a monster night from Wendell Carter Jr. — 27 points on 10-of-12 shooting with 13 rebounds — plus 15 points and a career-high 15 assists from Franz Wagner. It was not nearly enough against 25 Magic turnovers that Phoenix turned into 36 points. Orlando has lost three straight and sits at 2-6; the Suns climb to 2-5 and finally get a night where the fourth quarter was a formality in their favor.

The two lines, side by side

Same night, same takeover quarter, two very different routes to it. Booker front-loaded his night and had the game won by halftime's momentum; Curry shot 2-for-10 for a half and then scored 22 in 24 minutes. Their lines, from the official box scores:

Curry's career climb is tracked season by season in the Previously Stats Hub, where his 26,737 career points now sit 17th in league history.

What is next

Friday's slate is headlined by the Thunder visiting the Grizzlies in Memphis, with Oklahoma City still missing Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams. On Saturday, the two teams from this roundup cross paths with the losers: Orlando travels to Golden State, and Phoenix stays home to host Houston. If Thursday proved anything, it is that both home teams will be perfectly happy to settle things in the third quarter again.

Sources