warriors vs suns recap (Photo: Kelley L Cox / USA Today)
The Golden State Warriors were without the services of their two bigs, Andrew Bogut and David Lee, and paid the price, eventually losing to the Phoenix Suns 122-109, although the final score was not an indicator of how close the game got in the 4th quarter.
With Jermaine O’Neal winded and not productive enough on offense, Coach Mark Jackson went with Draymond Green at the 5 and Harrison Barnes at the 4 at times, but it was not enough.
Barnes did have a break out game, curiously in Lee’s absence once more, similar to last season’s playoffs.
Without a rim protector, Goran Dragic scored 34 points on just 13 shots. Stephen Curry scored 28 points and dished out 9 assists, but was held scoreless in the final frame. Here are some Curry highlights:
The following are sights and sounds, followed by a recap round-up of beatwriters from both the Bay Area and Phoenix.
PRE-GAME
It was Klay Thompson’s birthday and his brother posted on Instagram. Birthday boy Klay Thompson shooting around and Stephen Curry dribbling 2 basketballs just now in Phoenix.
Pregame #NBA #courtside. Meanwhile, Pete Myers and Kent Bazemore sign autographs for #DubNation, pregame at Phoenix.
IN-GAME
#Suns 29; #Warriors 28, end of Q1. Jordan Crawford 6 pts off the bench. #Suns 46, #Warriors 39, Q2, 5:51. Phoenix on a 9-1 run.
#Suns 63, #Warriors 59, halftime. @bbickle05 #courtside to see #DubNation go back to their bench. #Suns 78, #Warriors 71, Q3, 5:52. Stephen Curry 23 pts, 5 assists.
#Suns 89, #Warriors 78, Q3, 2:37. Draymond Green now playing center after 13-3 Phoenix start of 2nd half. #Suns 95, #Warriors 90, end of Q3. Stephen Curry 28 points, 8 assists.
#Suns 100, #Warriors 98, Q4, 8:40. Harrison Barnes 20 points off the bench. #Suns 122, #Warriors 109, FINAL. Goran Dragic 34 pts on 13 shots.
POST-GAME
Harrison Barnes last night on if it was tough to lose when playing well: “Whether you score 18 or 8, it’s about wins and losses.” Meanwhile, Mark Jackson on last night’s loss in Phoenix: “Even w/o bigs…we have to want it enough to go get a rebound”.
RECAP ROUND-UP
Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle:
Warriors center Andrew Bogut sat in a charcoal blazer Saturday night with a near-constant grimace on his face.
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It’s tough to tell if his inflamed shoulder was hurting that badly or if his pain was due to his inability to help stop what he was watching on the US Airways Arena floor.
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With their starting big men sidelined with injuries, the Warriors had few interior answers for the surprising Suns, who dominated the glass and tenaciously attacked the rim in a 122-109 victory over the Warriors.
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Bogut and power forward David Lee (shoulder/hip) missed their second consecutive games, and Phoenix outrebounded the undermanned Warriors 44-33 and seemed to have a never-ending path to the basket for layups at all the right times.
Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group:
Dragic scored a career-high 34 points and added 10 assists, leading the Phoenix’s hot-shooting team past Golden State.
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Curry had 28 points and nine assists, but the Suns shot 52.4 percent from 3-point range, including Dragic making 6 of 7 attempts from beyond the arc.
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Phoenix regained the No. 6 spot in the Western Conference with the win against Golden State, which entered the game having won nine of its previous 11 road games.
Monte Poole of CSN Bay Area:
Six Warriors scored in double figures, led by 28 points by Stephen Curry. Harrison Barnes came off the bench for 23, Klay Thompson finished with 17, Andre Iguodala with 12, Jermaine O’Neal with 11 and Jordan Crawford had 10.
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But the Warriors (30-21) lost this game because they were clobbered on the glass (45-34) and were beaten badly on defense in the second-half. Phoenix (30-20) shot 53.8 percent for the game, led by point guard Goran Dragic, who finished with a game-high 34 points.
Paul Coro of AZcentral.com:
The victory pulled the Suns (30-20) ahead of Curry’s Golden State Warriors (30-21) for sixth place in the Western Conference. The Suns also took a 2-1 series advantage against the Warriors in a head-to-head battle that could prove important if a season-ending tiebreaker is needed between teams currently separated by a half-game. They have a final meeting March 9 in Oakland.
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Dragic now has twice as many 30-point games this season (six) as he did in previous five seasons (three). Adding the game-high 10 assists also gave Dragic his third career 30-point, 10-assist game.
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It continued a stretch of hot play for Dragic, whose seven consecutive 20-point scoring games is the longest such streak of his career. He came in shooting 61 percent from the field ruing that time and then made 10 of 13 shots on Saturday, when he did his damage by drawing fouls on drives and pull-ups in the first half for eight free throw points. Dragic also tied a career high for 3-pointers by make six of seven 3s, including three in the final seven minutes to rid of Golden State’s final challenge.
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Curry did not make a shot in the fourth quarter on three tries from 3-point range, where sharpshooting Golden State was only eight for 25. The Suns made 11 of 21 3s with Dragic’s six and two from P.J. Tucker, who carried the Suns on the boards with a career-high 15 rebounds that accounted for one-third of the Suns’ total. Tucker also scored 16, two off his season high.
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View from press row: With David Lee out, Warriors coach Mark Jackson said he was not starting Harrison Barnes at power forward to counter Channing Frye’s shooting because of how much Frye’s post game had improved. Draymond Green would be the better answer. But when the Suns stretched the lead in the third quarter, it was by going to Frye in post against Green for three scores on four tries (the other was an offensive foul).
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