Phoenix Suns rookie Deandre Ayton was happy with how his team performed despite the loss at the hands of the defending champion Golden State Warriors. Per the Phoenix Suns official Twitter page, Ayton added that the Suns are maturing despite their youth and that their game tonight showed that they can compete and challenge any team.

Ayton held his ground against Warriors big man DeMarcus Cousins. The first overall pick of the 2018 draft scored 23 points on 10-of-20 shooting, and added 12 rebounds and three steals. Kelly Oubre Jr. top-scored for Phoenix with 25 markers off the bench, while rounding out his line with a career-high 12 rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

The Suns surely made life difficult for the two-time defending champions, who came into the contest with 17 consecutive wins against Phoenix. The Suns stunned the Warriors early and raced to 26-9 lead to open the game. Golden State, however, regained control and cut the lead down to 5 at the end of the first.

The Warriors came back in the second quarter as they took the 60-53 lead at the half. It had all the signs of a blow-out from that point on, but the resilient young Suns bounced back in the third quarter to take a 85-82 lead into the final period.

Two-time MVP Stephen Curry, who had struggled with his shot throughout the game, found his form in the fourth quarter, where he scored 10 of his 20 points. The defending champs proved to be too much for the rebuilding Suns, which was without leading scorer Devin Booker due to a hamstring issue.

Nonetheless, this is all but another lost season for Phoenix. Thus, it makes sense for them to give the young guys all they can handle in order to build their chemistry as they take the next step in their rebuilding process.