Inside: Spirited effort leads Warriors to big comeback past Suns.
PHOENIX >> Heading to the sideline after Warriors forward Eric Paschall powered his way to a two-handed dunk, guard Damion Lee pumped his fists and slapped his teammates’ hands as he yelled, “Let’s give them a game!”
The Warriors were on their way to erasing the Suns’ 18-point lead and a 115-99 win at Talking Stick Resort Arena on Saturday night. With only eight healthy players, a makeshift group without a true point guard managed to snap an eight-game losing streak.
Without Draymond Green (left knee soreness), Jordan Poole (right ankle) and Ky Bowman (right ankle) — and Stephen Curry (left hand surgery) sidelined into next week — the Warriors entered Saturday’s game without their top facilitators.
This forced the Warriors (13-47) to run their offense by committee, and resulted in good ball movement despite half of the team’s eight healthy players joining the Warriors this month.
Overall, the Warriors assisted on 30 of their 41 made shots and turned the ball over just 10 times — a vast improvement from their 27 turnovers Thursday against the Lakers. Meanwhile, an earnest defense held the Suns (24-37) to 41% shooting and forced 20 turnovers.
Among the Warriors’ newcomers was guard Mychal Mulder, who signed to a 10day contract this week and, in his second game with Golden State, scored 14 points, including a 3-pointer that helped the Warriors extend a game-swinging 31-16 run in the third quarter.
In his most impressive game since joining the Warriors on a 10-day contract, center Dragan Bender finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Forward Andrew Wiggins, acquired in a trade-deadline deal from Minnesota, had 17 points on 6-for-20 shooting, seven rebounds and five assists.
But it was Paschall, who finished with 25 points on 10-for-16 shooting, three rebounds and four assists in 32 minutes, who did most of the heavy lifting. Head coach Steve Kerr routinely called plays for the rookie, asking him to use his strength to penetrate the Suns’ defense and create open shots for his teammates.
Paschall’s two-handed slam helped erase an 18-point lead the Suns established in the second quarter after outscoring the Warriors 41-28 in the opening period. It was at that point the Warriors’ mood changed from frustrated to enthusiastic. Kerr’s constant complaints to the officials were replaced by fist pumps and a smile.
After all, it was the first thing the Warriors have had to smile about since the Feb. 6 trade deadline, with Saturday’s win being their first since making a flurry of roster changes.
Kerr has said in recent days the team needed a win, remarking after Thursday’s 30-point loss to the Lakers that those in the locker room were growing increasingly frustrated with mounting losses.
This win won’t do anything to change the fate of this lottery-bound season, but it will also serve as more than a moral boost — it’s an important marker of growth during a season in which the Warriors are developing contributors for 2020-21.
Early in this season, Paschall, the No. 41 pick in June’s draft, established himself as part of the future. Several other Warriors are now getting a similar chance.
This injury-plagued season has been far from what the Warriors had planned, but perhaps the most impressive thing about this group has been their willingness to experiment, play hard and a newly-developed appreciation for winning.