Warriors-suns lives up to hype; ends in Golden State’s third loss of the season

Draymond Green pulled up, exhausted, and watched as the nail dug into the coffin of the Warriors’ seven-game winning streak and their claim to sole possession of the NBA’S best record.

Jae Crowder’s 3-pointer with 3:47 to go sealed the Warriors’ fate in a 104-96 loss to the Phoenix Suns in a matchup of the NBA’S top two teams that lived up to its billing.

Green had just run the length of the court and back two times but failed to complete either of his attempts at the rim that could have stemmed the Suns’ game-clinching run. Instead, all he could do was watch. Crowder’s 3 was the clincher in a 24-18 fourth quarter that gave the Suns their 17th consecutive win and pulled them even with Golden State atop the Western Conference standings at 18-3.

Tuesday’s game was more than just an early season matchup for supremacy in the West. It was a battle of one team vying to regain its position and another looking to replicate the former’s dynastic reign.

Suns coach Monty Williams laid the stakes bare.

rebounds and four assists.

Richaun Holmes returned after missing three games due to illness and an eye injury, putting up 27 points on 12-of-13 shooting with nine rebounds and two blocked shots for the Kings (8-14). De'aaron Fox had 17 points, five assists and five rebounds, but he committed seven turnovers. Chimezie Metu added 14 points, 11 rebounds and three steals for the Kings, who were missing Harrison Barnes (foot), Maurice Harkless (knee) and Marvin Bagley III (illness).

Sacramento led 59-50 after playing an impressive first half. The Kings outshot the Lakers 55.6% to 43.5% and outscored them 18-3 on fastbreak points.

The second half was an entirely different story as a 14-point lead turned into a 27-point deficit. The Lakers shot 56.5% from the field and 47.1% from 3-point range. The Kings shot 28.6% and went 0 of 11 from beyond the arc, firing up one brick after another. Buddy Hield went 1 of 7 from the field and 1 of 6 from 3-point range. Tyrese Haliburton was 2 of 10 and Davion Mitchell went 3 of 14. Sacramento's bench was outscored 58-20, dominated by Dwight Howard, who had 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Monk, who made 6 of 10 from 3-point range.

The Lakers outscored the Kings 37-15 in the third quarter and 30-18 in the fourth. Los Angeles outscored Sacramento 40-8 from the 9:15 mark in the third quarter to the 10:51 mark in the fourth, a span of 10:24.

Deafening chants of “Let's go Lakers” filled the emptiness inside the arena as Lakers fans howled and high-fived over the end result.

Gentry didn't like that at all. “The way you shut people's mouths and keep them from cheering in your arena is you kick their ass and we didn't do that,” Gentry said. “You should be livid that anyone would come in and have the audacity to do that in your arena.” Holmes didn't like it either. “You don't never want to hear nobody getting chants on your home floor, so for me personally, I don't take that lightly as a competitor,” Holmes said. “We're at home and the other team is being cheered like we're away, so I didn't like that. That sticks with me personally, for sure. Makes me want to do something better, makes me want to get better, go back to the drawing board and see how we can be better for these fans because they deserve more.”