Golden State went on the road against the second-best team in the West without its two best players, and it went about as expected.

The Warriors (19-8) fell to the Phoenix Suns (24-11) 120-98 on Thursday night in the Valley of the Sun, dropping its second-straight game and the final contest before the All-Star break. Golden State was without guard Stephen Curry because of rest and forward Draymond Green because of precaution on the second game in two nights after the forward sprained his left ankle last week.

Without the two-time MVP, rookie guard Nico Mannion was thrust into the starting lineup in his first action since returning from the G League Bubble. The guard attended high school in Phoenix and played college ball at the University of Arizona in Tucson, and scored nine points on 3-of-10 shooting with three 3-pointers in his first career start.

The starting unit comprised of Mannion, guard Damion Lee, forwards Juan Toscano-Anderson and Andrew Wiggins and center James Wiseman jumped out to a 9-7 lead early in the first quarter, but after guard Devin Booker hit a step back jumper with 7:46 left in the opening period, the Warriors would trail the Suns for the rest of the contest.

Phoenix took an 11-point lead into the second quarter, and led 53-33 with about five minutes left in the half.

Guard Jordan Poole – who also played for the Santa Cruz Warriors in the Orlando Bubble with Mannion – then tore off the next 13 points for Golden State, helping the road side cut the deficit to 62-51 at the half. Poole’s 13 points were the most for the second-year guard in any quarter in his career, and matched that total in the second half, with his 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting and 5-of-10 from distance leading all scorers in the contest.

The former Michigan guard was the only Warrior to record double-digit scoring off of the bench as the second unit was outscored 61-46 in the game. Forwards Dario Saric and Abdel Nader and guard Cameron Payne each scored in the double-digits off of the bench for Pheonix, and were the game’s three leaders in plus-minus with totals +20 or higher.

Golden State would get within seven points a minute into the second half, but stagnant scoring gave the Suns a 14-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter, allowing their own All-Star backcourt of guards Chris Paul and Booker to sit for the entire final period.

After missing Wednesday’s stinging loss to the Portland Trail Blazers with a wrist injury, guard Kelly Oubre Jr. was also absent on the second leg of the back-to-back. Wiggins chipped in 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting, but was a team-worst -22 on the court.

Wiseman – a 2021 lottery pick – matched Pheonix’s 2018 No. 1 overall pick DeAndre Ayton in scoring as the bigs recorded 11 points apiece, and snagged 11 rebounds to round out a double-double while shooting just 5-of-14 from the field.

Without their assist leaders in Curry and Green, the Warriors still dished out 22 assists but also turned the ball over 17 times.

Golden State enters the All-Star break a game over .500 and as the 9th seed in the Western Conference, and will tip-off second half action on March 11 against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center.