The Warriors lost Chris Paul in the first half to an apparent referee grudge and were already without the suspended Draymond Green, but the strangeness wasn’t limited to that.
Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and the rest of the Warriors’ starters watched for most of the second half as Golden State’s bench staged a furious comeback. Players like Brandin Podziemski, Dario Saric, Cory Joseph, and Gui Santos cut a 20-point Phoenix lead to three with 19 seconds left, but the Suns made enough free throws to close out the scare.
In a game it lost by eight, the Warriors got outscored by 17 while Stephen Curry was on the floor. That’s practically unheard of.
The Suns were also shorthanded and on the second night of a back-to-back, but still discarded the Warriors (7-9), who have now lost eight of their last 10 games.
Curry had his worst shooting game of the season, but Thompson posted his second straight 20-point night in the 123-115 Warriors loss.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
Impressive bench pushes
When the Warriors were down 86-66 with four minutes left in the third quarter, it looked like Steve Kerr was ready for some Thanksgiving football. The Warriors emptied their bench, putting out a lineup of Brandin Podziemski, Cory Joseph, Gui Santos, Moses Moody and Dario Saric.
The Suns still had their rotation players out there, and should have pulled away. But the Warriors’ reserves competed.
The bench mob cut into PHX’s lead, so Kerr stuck with them to start the fourth. That’s when they started the final frame with six unanswered points, trimming the Suns’ advantage to 10.
Saric identified and attacked mismatches, and the guards kept the ball flowing. They played with energy and intent, stunning the Suns into a competitive game when it probably should have been decided.
The unit charged to a 15-3 run that featured a box-and-one defensive strategy. Once the Splash Bros returned with 9:18 left in the game, Golden State trailed 94-82; the bench gave them a chance.
Thompson (23 points, 6-for-10 from 3) built on his season-best scoring output, but Curry — who lost his streak of games with four-plus 3s — struggled and the Suns pulled away.
But another all-bench surge from the Warriors cut the Suns’ lead to six with 1:48 to play. The Suns needed to bring Kevin Durant and Devin Booker back into the game.
More intense defense, with the box-and-one and triangle-and-two against PHX’s stars, led to late turnovers. With 19 seconds left, Golden State was within three. But the Suns made their free throws, ultimately preventing a catastrophic collapse.
In a twisted way, the runs from the bench highlighted the Warriors’ problem this year. For the first time in years, they’re getting ample production out of their depth, while their typically extraordinary starting lineup has struggled. The funhouse trend has been a horror show for GSW.
Kevin Durant playing at MVP level
When the Warriors opened their season against the Suns, Kevin Durant played in the Chase Center for the first time. He scored just 18 points, but helped Phoenix to a 108-104 victory.
Since that night, Durant has averaged more than 32 points per game while shooting over 50% from 3. At 35 and in his 15th season, Durant is an early contender for the MVP award.
Durant entered Wednesday averaging 31.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists while ranking in the top-10 in most advanced statistical categories.
The ever-efficient Durant dropped 32 points in 34 minutes, hitting three of four 3s and going 7-for-14 overall. He added eight boards and drilled all 15 of his free throws, including clutch ones to put Golden State away, to his fifth straight 30-point game.
The Suns are built around Durant, Booker and Bradley Beal. If Durant can continue to provide this level of play and the trio can stay healthy enough, no team will want to play the Suns.
The Chris Paul-Scott Foster beef
At one point, Chris Paul lost 13 straight playoff games officiated by Scott Foster. The point guard has publicly criticized Foster, feeling singled out by the veteran ref. Foster has handed him technicals before and played mind games.
Wednesday was a new chapter in their long standing beef. With 24 seconds left in the first half, Foster handed two quick technicals to Paul, ejecting the point guard from the game. Saying that the two have history would be an understatement.
Paul fumed off the court with six points and six assists. Foster got to go home having made another game about himself.
The Warriors were already without Draymond Green, who served the fourth of his five-game suspension for choking Rudy Gobert. Green has his own history with officials, but the Paul-Foster feud is different. It feels personal, and it has no place in the league.
Foster also made an imprint with 19 seconds left, when he T’d up Durant for throwing the ball against the stanchion after a timeout. That was an obvious call, but Foster kept his whistle active.
