The Phoenix Suns are back in familiar territory to start the season: 1-4, just like last year, after a 116-113 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Monday night in San Francisco.
It was a chippy one, too. The game featured an ejection and three technical fouls, and when the dust settled, Stephen Curry’s 34 points had carried Golden State past Phoenix. The Suns’ third straight loss came with a familiar sting: a strong start, a promising lead, and then too many empty possessions when the game tightened up.
Phoenix opened with its best burst of the year, jumping out early and building a lead that reached 17 points in the second quarter. But the momentum didn’t last. The Suns went 1-for-7 from 3 in the fourth quarter and coughed it up seven times in the final period, a collapse that fit too neatly with the story of their first five games.
“I think the first quarter, early second quarter, we seen some things that worked and then right before halftime, (we) lost it. And then fourth quarter, lost it,” Devin Booker said after the game, via The Arizona Republic’s Duane Rankin.
“We have some spots. We’ve been saying it the past few games, we just have to put 48 minutes together.”
Booker finished with 26 points and five assists, while Miles Bridges added 21 points and six rebounds. But the Suns never found enough rhythm once the game turned into a half-court grind. With Booker, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and Bridges all on the floor together, the offense too often bogged down and settled into awkward looks instead of clean ones.
Green had 11 points on 5-of-14 shooting, along with eight assists, eight rebounds and four turnovers. Brooks posted 18 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four turnovers. Booker’s minus-18 was the worst mark on the team.
The Warriors, usually associated with pace and perimeter shooting, found a different path back into the game. After Draymond Green was ejected in the third quarter, Golden State leaned on its interior play, and backup center Charles Bassey delivered a career night with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting and eight rebounds. The Warriors finished with a 44-37 edge on the glass.
Phoenix got some help on the boards from Jalen Green, Brooks and Bridges, but the center spot remains a work in progress while Mark Williams is sidelined. Khaman Maluach and Oso Ighodaro combined for just four rebounds, and Ighodaro may be the one who eventually replaces Maluach in the starting lineup.
The Suns have shown flashes of what they want to be when their defense sparks their offense, especially in the first half Monday. But they still haven’t found a way to keep that going when the game slows down, and that problem keeps showing up late.
Phoenix now heads into a seven-game homestand, starting Wednesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers, who blew out the Suns in the season opener.
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