Facing the Golden State Warriors hasn't been an easy task for the past decade (save for their putrid 2019-20 season). After all, it's incredibly tiring for the Warriors' opponents to keep an eye out for Stephen Curry at all times given how limitless his stamina bar seems to be. Now imagine doing so while you're less than 100 percent healthy. That's exactly what Devin Booker had to do on Tuesday night during the Phoenix Suns' 108-104 victory over the Dubs in their 2023-24 season opener.

Booker was nursing a toe injury entering Tuesday; in fact, there was a bit of doubt whether the Suns star was going to suit up against the Warriors. In the end, Booker did, which the Suns needed due to Bradley Beal's absence. And he flourished despite his toe knock, dropping 32 points, six rebounds, and eight assists — with two of those dimes coming when the Suns had to put away the Warriors for good late in the fourth quarter.

While Devin Booker made it look easy en route to a hard-fought Suns victory, he revealed that he was having such a hard time catching his breath out there on the court as his toe injury made him lag behind the fitness level he wants to carry all throughout the season.

According to Doug Haller of The Athletic, Booker was “tired as hell”, although that did not prevent him making the right reads during crunch time, feeding Jusuf Nurkic for the game-sealing layup. The Suns star then credited his teammates for “being in the right spot”.

The resiliency Booker had to battle fatigue with the game on the line shows that he's one of the league's most reliable superstars, making him the Suns' lead guy even with Kevin Durant on the roster. And it's not like Booker was limping on Tuesday night. In fact, he started the game off breathing fire from everywhere on the court, torching the Warriors from all three levels.

The Suns didn't exactly flourish with Booker off the court, so it'll be important for him to remain healthy with his team having high ambitions of competing for a championship this season.