Too Little, Too Late: Warriors Lose Fourth Straight Game
The Golden State Warriors closed out November on a sour note, dropping their fourth straight contest Saturday night to the Phoenix Suns, 113-105, on the road. The Dubs' rough stretch of basketball continues, as in all four games, the Warriors were in contention in the fourth quarter but failed to break through. Tonight, it was the first-half three-point shooting of Phoenix that sunk the Warriors, digging them too deep of a hole to get out of.
Despite an uncharacteristic shooting night from the field from Warrior Kevin Durant, the Suns leaned into their depth, having five players in double-figures with all-star guard Devin Booker leading the way with a game-high 27 points.
The Suns opened up the game shooting 7-10 from beyond the arc in the first quarter, good enough for a six-point advantage, 35-29 after the first frame.
The hot start from deep rolled right into the second quarter, and Phoenix extended their lead. Beginning 14-21 (66%) from distance, to make matters worse, Stephen Curry had not yet made a field goal going into halftime.
“This is the modern NBA, threes go in like that, it’s tough to win,” head coach Steve Kerr said.
Steve Kerr on the Suns getting hot from deep in the first half: "This is modern NBA, three's go in like that, it's tough to win."
— TheWarriorsTalk (@TheWarriorsTalk) December 1, 2024
Curry would later finish as Golden State’s leading scorer with 23 points, getting things going in the third with a flurry of buckets. Though the depth of the Warriors has been praised heavily, they failed to overcome an off night from Curry. The two-time league MVP is averaging his lowest field goal attempts per game since the 2011-12 season with 15.6, nearly four less than last season. Six Golden State players wound up in double-figures, but an inefficient night overall plagued the team.
Kerr mentioned postgame his desire to possibly shorten his rotations going forward, 13 Warriors saw the floor tonight, Moses Moody seemingly once again finding himself as the odd man out with two-way player Pat Spencer finding the floor after his solid performance versus Oklahoma City.
Golden State won the third quarter 29-19 to reinsert themselves back into the contest, they did so in large part thanks to forcing the Suns off the three-point line, with them shooting just 2-8 from deep.
With the deficit at single digits entering the fourth, the Warriors again faltered late. Curry would check back into the game at the 7:36 mark at the Dubs down 10, but the Suns would expand their lead, ballooning to as much as 17, matching their largest lead of the game.
Golden State had one final push with a 13-2 run capped off by a Jonathan Kuminga slam to make it 105-99, but was immediately met with a Durant three on the other end to halt any momentum.
The loss of De’Anthony Melton cannot be stressed enough, as the Warriors' defense has been hurt significantly, as it was felt tonight with the barrage of shots from outside. December 15th is the earliest date players that signed deals in the offseason can be dealt, as it’s speculated that Melton would be involved in a deal.
“It was a morgue out there defensively in the second quarter, I couldn’t hear anybody,” Kerr said.
The schedule ahead doesn’t lighten up by any means with a trip to Denver on Tuesday, followed by a visit from the Rockets and a baseball series with the Timberwolves.
(photo credit: Rick Scuteri/AP)