The Golden State Warriors beat the Phoenix Suns 123-112 at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California, on Monday, securing their second straight win.

Having secured their 29th win at home this season, the Warriors rose to fifth in the Western Conference and are 1.5 games behind the Suns. By contrast, their record on the road was 7-26, the third-worst in the NBA. Only three tanking teams, the Detroit Pistons (7-26), the San Antonio Spurs (6-27) and the Houston Rockets (6-28), have similar performances to the Warriors' in away games.

The Warriors had a perfect start against the Suns at home on Monday. Klay Thompson shot 8-for-12 from downtown to score 33 points in the first half, giving his side a lead as big as 25 points (57-32) in the second quarter. His efficient offensive performance partly came from his boiling touch and partly because of the opponents' sloppy defense.

The Suns were not focused in the first half of Monday's competition. They often lost the defensive target when the second screen happened, enabling the Warriors to shoot a lot of wide-open 3-pointers. Offensively, the Suns were both productive and efficient within the 3-point line but performed poorly behind the arc with as little as 4-for-21.

Having trailed by 17 points (75-58) after the first half, the Suns began to bounce back in the third quarter by pulling themselves together defensively. From Josh Okogie to Deandre Ayton, the team worked harder to close out in containing screen plays. They also did a better job in deflecting the opponents' ball movements. As a result, Thompson, who shot 18 field goals (FGs) in the first half, took only five attempts in the second half.

By changing up their plays, the Suns cut their deficit to as little as three points (85-82) in the third quarter, but the Warriors then made their comeback. They switched up their zone defense to shut down the Suns from the paint while keeping an eye on the opponents' two major scorers, Devin Booker and Ayton.

The Warriors would often keep a defender in front of Booker to contest his shooting, and as soon as Ayton received the ball, an extra defender would blitz him from the blind side. As a result, Booker and Ayton, who scored 21 points combined in the third quarter, got only 10 points in the fourth period.

The Warriors altered their offense as well by increasing isolations from the outside. Jordan Poole committed two turnovers in the fourth quarter, but he also shot 4-for-7 from the field, including draining two triples, to contribute 10 points during the period for the Warriors to deal the deal before the game entered the final two minutes.

Other games on Monday (away teams come first):

Minnesota Timberwolves 136-115 Atlanta Hawks

The Timberwolves tore the Hawks apart from the inside by scoring 82 points in the paint at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, on Monday. Five of their players reached double-digit points in the paint, led by Anthony Edwards, who had 18 of his 32 points right under the hoop. Kyle Anderson contributed a triple-double of 14 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists.

The Hawks trailed by 24 points (76-52) in the first half despite Trae Young dropping 20 points during those two periods. Young further showed his offensive dominance by getting another 21 points in the second half, but still failed to lead his team to come back at home.

Boston Celtics 109-111 Houston Rockets

The league's second-to-last-ranked Rockets upset the second-ranking Celtics at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, on Monday. Jabari Smith Jr. made nine of his 11 FG attempts, including going 5-for-6 at the 3-point line, to drop a double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds. Kenyon Martin Jr. shot 7-for-7 under the rim to add 20 points for the team. All of the Rockets' four starters that scored double digits are under 22 years old.

The Celtics suffered their fourth loss in the past six games after wasting Jaylen Brown's incredible performance of getting 43 points. His star duo partner Jayson Tatum missed 14 of his 22 FGs to score only 22 points. In the final quarter, Tatum shot 0-for-3 from the field, producing only an assist and a steal.

Milwaukee Bucks 133-124 Sacramento Kings

Having sat out three games, a fully "recharged" Giannis Antetokounmpo shot 19-for-28 from the field to drop 46 points and 12 rebounds at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California, on Monday. He was joined by Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez, who combined contributed 54 points and 13 assists to help the Bucks outperform the Kings in a high-score game.

The Kings drained 21 triples on Monday night at home. Thirteen of them came from Kevin Huerter and De'Aaron Fox. Domantas Sabonis dropped a triple-double of 23 points, 17 rebounds and 15 assists for the team. Despite such great offensive performances, they still lost the competition.

Trey Lyles clashed with Lopez in the final minute of the game, almost causing a huge fight. In the end, both were ejected.

Indiana Pacers 97-117 Detroit Pistons

Utah Jazz 115-119 Miami Heat

Memphis Grizzlies 104-88 Dallas Mavericks