Warriors lose to Suns on last-second foul

The worst aspects of a wretched stretch of Warriors play were on full display in Phoenix on Thursday night. The turnovers, the stagnant possessions, the missed boxouts and slow defensive rotations: The usual suspects of the Warriors’ losing skid were accounted for in the second half.

And yet, somehow, the Warriors were in the game late thanks to clutch shooting. In the end, they lost an 99-98 heartbreaker instead of being blown out for the team’s third consecutive loss.

Suns guard Jordan Goodwin was fouled by Moses Moody with 0.4 on a rebound attempt after a Dillon Brooks miss. Goodwin bricked the first free throw, but made the second to give the Suns a one-point win.

“It’s hard to believe the game was decided on that call,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “A shot that hits the side of the backboard, and the guys behind the bench said Moses got all ball. Everybody’s tangled up. It better be a foul to decide the game on a play like that.”

Despite being the victims of 20-6 and 18-4 second-half runs, the Warriors were somehow leading by one with four minutes remaining after Brandin Podziemski knocked down a tough stepback 3-pointer.

But with the momentum on their side, the Warriors fumbled the lead with two ghastly turnovers that led to four points as part of an 8-0 run. But after trailing by five following a missed Steph Curry shot, Brooks gave the Warriors a lifeline.

Brooks swung his arm and struck Curry in the midsection on a closeout long after Curry released the ball. Curry made both free throws after the flagrant foul was called, and then Jimmy Butler nailed a 3 to tie the game at 96.

Devin Booker answered with a midrange pullup with 30 seconds remaining, and Curry responded by hitting two more free throws to tie the game at 98 before Goodwin won the game.

Podziemski scored 18 off the bench, while Curry put in just 15. Booker scored 23 of his 25 points in the second half, while Brooks scored 20 of his 24 points in the first half. Jonathan Kuminga, in his return to the rotation, scored just two points in 10 minutes.

After being asked by teammates to be more aggressive after a few middling games, Butler was one of the few early offensive bright spots for the team, and he scored 16 of his team-high 31 points in the first half. He drove repeatedly and made four of his first-half field goals right at the rim. 

“It was just Jimmy being demonstrative out there, and this was vintage Jimmy,” Kerr said.

The Warriors  jumped out to a 14-point lead early in the the third quarter, but a 20-6 run led by Booker — 12 points in that stretch — led to a tie at 66. The Suns were aggressive in double-teaming Curry, who had scored 87 points over the past two games, daring other Warriors to beat them.

Golden State went scoreless during the final 4:42 of the third quarter, a scoreless skid only boosted by a series of turnovers. Yet, somehow, the visitors led 71-70 going into the fourth quarter.

Butler and Podziemski did what they could, but the Warriors’ errors were too much for the two to overcome.

The Warriors (13-15) will fly back to the Bay Area to play the Suns again at Chase Center on Saturday.

Quick substitution pattern

The Warriors took an unconventional approach to their early substitution patterns. Rather than having all five starters play an extended shift, Kerr made a series of quick changes against an athletic Suns team.

Ten different Warriors played in the first half, often taking the floor in short shifts. For instance, Draymond Green played the first four minutes, subbed out, returned at the six-minute mark, went back out three minutes afterwards, and then played the last possession. 

Turnovers still a problem

Neither team could be accused of being too cautious with the ball or valuing every possession. 

The Warriors have driven Kerr up a wall with their turnovers this season, the team ranked 26th in the league with a whopping 16 giveaways per game. The Suns have been just as careless with the ball, also averaging 16 turnovers per game. 

Golden State turned the ball over 20 times and surrendered 30 points off those giveaways. Meanwhile, even though the Suns had turnovers, the Warriors were only able to convert those into 18 points.

Dillon Brooks scorches nemesis

Brooks began the game with a scorching hot shooting hand, scoring 13 points in the game’s first five minutes, but he appeared to impact the game even more with his famed antics.  

He even earned his league-leading ninth technical foul with 5:28 left in the first half. He drove hard into the paint on a layup, and was incensed that Quinten Post was not called for a foul. Early in the first quarter, Brooks and Moses Moody had a brief scuffle, which led to a Kerr timeout. In the fourth, his foul on Curry kept the Warriors in the game. 

Last postseason, Brooks — then on the Rockets — was accused of purposely trying to injure Curry’s hand. He also had history with the Warriors while in Memphis. Gary Payton II broke his elbow when Brooks flagrantly fouled him in the second round of the 2022 playoffs.