Joy is first of the four core values — the others being mindfulness, compassion and competition — that head coach Steve Kerr has used to guide the Warriors. His philosophy is simple: To play your best, you first must have fun.

But the longer Golden State tries to stay atop the NBA, the trickier it becomes to maintain a jubilant approach. The grind of playing into June each year takes a toll, mentally and physically.

In Monday night’s 123-103 rout of the Suns at Oracle Arena, the Warriors played an uninhibited, joyful brand of basketball for perhaps the first time this season. There were numerous of those beautiful sequences in which Golden State expertly exhibits all the fundamentals of the game: dribbling, shooting and, above all else, passing.

A night removed from their two-point loss in Denver, the Warriors tallied assists on 35 of their 45 field goals, at times seeming to toy with a team likely bound for the lottery. After taking an 8-7 lead less than four minutes into the game, Golden State did not trail the rest of the way. It was up 23 by halftime.

“That looked like our team,” Kerr said. “The purpose of each possession, just driving and kicking and trying to get guys better shots and playing together. It was a good night.”

Draymond Green, who is still working on his conditioning after missing much of the preseason with a minor knee injury, was the Warriors’ only All-Star to play in the final period. Watching from the bench, Stephen Curry (29 points, eight assists) and Kevin Durant (22 points) could rest easy as reserves got much-appreciated playing time.

Facing an overmatched opponent, Golden State showed how dominant it can be when its players are spread throughout the floor and in constant motion. It shot 51.1 percent from the field and, after opening 2-for-11 from three-point range, went 12-for-26 from deep the rest of the way.

“It felt like we were just moving the ball, and that’s really our strength,” forward Jonas Jerebko said. “We’ve got a lot of weapons out there, so they’ve got to play defense. And it’s tough to play defense when the ball is moving.”

The memorable performances extended past the Warriors’ core. A night after having his game-tying dunk attempt blocked in the final seconds in Denver, Damian Jones poured in nine of his 13 points in the first quarter. Alfonzo McKinnie, who was playing in rec-league-size gyms in Luxembourg three years ago, chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds.

Three nights removed from his game-winning tip-in in Utah, Jerebko had 13 points. The only setback was that Klay Thompson didn’t return after sustaining a mild left ankle sprain midway through the third quarter.

Along the way, Golden State played with a joy that it had lacked much of its first three games. Curry, the team’s resident ambassador of fun, delivered a steady stream of scoop shots, deep three-pointers and dizzying dribbling displays. When Quinn Cook drained a wide-open three late in the second quarter, Curry skipped along the baseline, jumped and, while hollering in glee, pumped his right fist.

His excitement seemed to trickle down to the rest of the roster. After making highlight-worthy plays of their own, Curry’s teammates often chuckled as they ran back on defense.

It all felt like a mini-breakthrough of sorts for a team staring down another championship pursuit.

In last Tuesday’s season opener against Oklahoma City, the Warriors surrendered a 22-9, third-quarter run, only to make enough stops down the stretch to escape with a victory. Three nights later in Utah, Golden State gave up 81 first-half points — including 47 in the second quarter — before Jerebko’s tip-in with 0.3 of a second left allowed it to steal another win. In Sunday’s loss to the Nuggets, the Warriors committed 29 fouls and 18 turnovers while missing 22 three-point tries.

The question now is whether they can maintain their movement-heavy blueprint against playoff-bound opponents.

Though the Suns are probably better than they were when they won just 21 games last season, they are still in a rebuild. The Wizards, who visit Oracle Arena on Wednesday, should provide more of a test for Golden State.

“We just got back to Warrior basketball,” Curry said.

Connor Letourneau is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cletourneau@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @Con_Chron