(Photo: Nemanja Nedovic in disbelief as the Warriors commit one of their 20 turnovers)
This is a recap compendium for last night’s 106-102 loss by the Golden State Warriors to the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The loss dropped the Warriors to 13-12 and propelled the Suns to their fifth straight victory, now standing at 14-9.
Rusty Simmons of the SF Chronicle:
They got off to another terrible start, falling behind by 13 points before halftime, and needed a public scolding just to inspire enough effort to make it a game.
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For the eighth time in the past 14 games, the Warriors coughed up at least 18 turnovers – many of the unforced, careless variety. They couldn’t summon the energy needed to challenge three-point shooters and allowed an eighth opponent to make at least 40 percent of its long-range shots in the past 14 games.
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“We’re watching the same movie every single night, and it gets old,” Mark Jackson said.
Monte Poole of CSN Bay Area in his instant recap:
Their latest loss, 106-102 to the Suns on Sunday night provided more of the same. The Warriors trailed for all but a few seconds, committed 20 turnovers that led to 17 Phoenix points and found themselves unable to get clean looks at the end.
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Stephen Curry finished with a game-high 30 points, with Klay Thompson adding 19.
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But it wasn’t enough to offset the lack of offensive production elsewhere. Forwards David Lee (18 points) and Harrison Barnes (8) combined for 9-of-27 shooting and were burned by Suns forwards Channing Frye and Marcus Morris.
Poole in his rewind:
“It’s just coming down to doing what we discuss, what we write on that board before every game,” center Andrew Bogut said. “We just haven’t been doing it for the last . . . in my opinion, it’s probably been 10 games. We just haven’t had consistent effort.
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“In this league, you can’t play 24-minute games and win. You can get away with 30. In my opinion you need about 35 minutes of solid basketball.”
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The Warriors locker-room was white-hot with frustration and discontent, as it should be after their third loss in four games and ninth in the last 14. It’s the natural response when, considering this was yet another game in which the Warriors committed at least 20 turnovers – and seventh time in eight games they allowed at least 55 points in a half.
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“We’ve been watching the same movie every night,” Jackson said, “and it’s getting old.”
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The Warriors eventually fought back with defensive surges and an 11-2 run late in the third quarter – after being blistered by assistant Pete Myers during a timeout. That shook them, at least temporarily, out of their stupor. They got back in the game, closing to 76-75 after a Curry 3-pointer with 2:54 left in the quarter.
Paul Coro of AZ Central Sports:
The Suns made 13 3s to open up their guard play. The Warriors did not have such big shots in them, even with big shots Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
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On Golden State’s possessions with a chance to take lead in the final 15 minutes, the Warriors went 0 for 4 from the field and 0 for 2 on free throws and made two turnovers. The key ones came in the final minute, when Dragic stole Draymond Green’s baseline pass for Thompson in the corner with a 102-100 Suns lead. Moments later after an Eric Bledsoe turnover, Golden State trailed 102-100 when stopper P.J. Tucker switched off a screen onto Curry, who recently ranked himself second to Michael Jordan for clutch shooting.
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“I want that last-second defense,” Tucker said. “No question. I called that switch so quick. I live for those moments, for sure.”
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Tucker tightly stayed in front of Curry to prompt an off-balanced, missed jumper to tie with 23.9 seconds to go.
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“I couldn’t get a shot off,” Curry said. “I tried to draw a foul, get him off the air but he didn’t go for it. Great D.”
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Curry still had 30 points and seven assists with Thompson adding 19 points but the Suns’ backcourt had comparable impact.
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Bledsoe tallied 24 points, eight assists and eight rebounds while Dragic made all four of his 3s after making 4 of 5 3s on Friday. Dragic finished with 21 points and Frye added 20 points with five 3s, putting him at 48 percent 3-point shooting in the past 14 games.
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“We think our guards can play with any of them,” Hornacek said. “Those are two great guards that they have on that team and our guys fought them all game.”
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The Suns held Golden State, the fifth-ranked shooting team, to 42.5 percent shooting. Phoenix’s big men showed high or helped off screens against Curry and Thompson to get the ball out of their hands. They took their chances with Andrew Bogut and David Lee and had timely help, like center Miles Plumlee’s three third-quarter blocks on Lee rolling free.
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