How Golden State finally beat Phoenix
SAN FRANCISCO – hurry for Phoenix.
Golden State opened up a 25-point lead in the first half fueled by Klay Thompson going for an insane 33-point half as he went 8-of-12 from 3.
Don’t know what Suns coach Monty Williams said at halftime, but the way he walked to the court before the start of the second half suggests it wasn’t pleasant.
The Suns cut that huge deficit to three with 4:32 left in the half, but couldn’t complete the comeback in Monday’s 123-112 loss to the defending NBA champions before a sellout crowd of 18,064 at Chase Center.
Thompson scored a game-high 38 points to lead the Warriors (36-33) while Stephen Curry added 23 on the day before his 35th birthday.
Devin Booker paced the Suns (37-31) with 32 points and Deandre Ayton went for 27 points and 12 rebounds.
Here are five takeaways from Phoenix’s first loss to Golden State in their fourth and final matchup of the regular season. The Warriors are now just 1-1⁄2 games behind the Suns, who are fourth in the West.
It got ugly in a
‘This ain’t 2014 no more’
The Splash brothers were dialed in that first half – with much swag to match.
Thompson scored over Josh Okogie and gave the “too small” sign in the first quarter.
After two subpar games in Phoenix in which he got ejected after having words with Booker on Oct. 25, Thompson was playing with that edge that helped make him one of the game’s best two-way players.
Then in the second quarter, Curry got past an aggressive Chris Paul on the baseline and hit a tough scoop shot to put the Warriors ahead by 22 points with 5:42 left in the half.
Fouled by Paul, Curry had words after that were caught on camera.
“This ain’t 2014 no more,” Curry said. Oh yeah, he went there.
Paul said he didn’t know what happened in 2014.
Reminder. The Paul-led eliminated the Warriors in playoffs in seven games.
Curry said it’s just about competition.
The end result was Golden State finally getting a much-needed win over Phoenix. The Warriors have been horrible on the road (7-26) and begin a fivegame trip Wednesday at the Clippers (36-33).
Clippers the 2014
Transition defense
Williams was upset with Phoenix’s transition defense in Saturday’s loss to Sacramento as the Suns gave up transition points even after made baskets.
The NBA’s top offense had 15 fast break points.
The Suns went into Monday’s game with transition defense being a priority against the second-highest scoring team in the league.
The message didn’t kick in right away. Golden State scored 15 fast break points in the first half as Thompson hit open 3s in transition.
Ayton advantage vs. Warriors
He lacks aggression for more than just a minute at times.
Ayton has disappeared in games on the offensive end, but he has had a clear physical advantage against Golden State for the last two seasons at least.
He just didn’t show it enough Monday. Ayton had scored 11 points in the third quarter when Phoenix made its run to pull within three.
Finishing with 27 points, Ayton took 19 shots and made 13 for the game.
Should’ve taken more because Kevon Looney can’t match him physically inside. Looney plays hard, is a worker and gets junkyard buckets, but Ayton is the more talented big.
The offense runs through Booker, especially with Kevin Durant out due to the ankle injury, but in a game like this when Ayton has the size advantage, even with two defenders in the paint, the Suns must find him earlier and he needs to do more catch-and-turn and less dribbling.
Without Bridges
The Suns scored enough points to win Monday.
They’ll score even more with Durant. Phoenix averaged 120 points in the three games he has played and that’s with him not fully knowing the offense.
Scoring will not be Phoenix’s problem. Defense will.
The Suns don’t have the same perimeter defense without Mikal Bridges, who was part of the blockbuster trade to acquire Durant.
Josh Okogie competes, is physical, athletic and can guard, but Bridges is a great on-ball defender who covers ground with his length.
He gets around those borderline illegal screens by Golden State that free up Thompson and Curry. He’s had great success guarding Curry in the past.
Now Paul has that assignment. Not a favorable one for the Suns.
Williams said he played Bismack Biyombo instead of Jock Landale, who is the better offensive player, to help cover up some deficiencies the Suns “may have” on defense.
Nah. It’s more than just may have. Teams with multiple perimeter guys who can score will give the Suns issues in the playoffs. Golden State is one of them with Thompson, Curry and Jordan Poole, who finished with 20 points Monday.
Even Donte DiVincenzo had some success with 10 points.
The Suns and Warriors may very well face each other in the first round. If that happens, Phoenix will need Durant to offset having to guard the Warriors on the perimeter.
Giving the referees those screens would cause, too.
Back-to-back
a heads up on help Phoenix’s
Giannis Antetokounmpo is back from the hand injury.
He dropped 46 on the Kings in his return game Monday in Sacramento.
Got Jae Crowder coming back to Phoenix for the first time after not playing a single game for the Suns while waiting on a trade that finally happened right before the Feb. 9 deadline.
Phoenix is just 2 1⁄2 games out of being in the play-in tournament.
Durant isn’t coming back anytime soon based on the re-evaluation timetable of three weeks.
The Suns shouldn’t want any part of that play-in drama.