SAN FRANCISCO — No game is a gimme in the NBA, but you’d have to think the Warriors felt good about their chances going into Tuesday night’s matchup against the Phoenix Suns.
Steph Curry returned to the starting lineup for the first time in nearly a month. Klay Thompson was available after being a gametime scratch on Saturday.
The Suns rolled out a skeleton squad without Devin Booker, Chris Paul, DeAndre Ayton and Cam Payne. Phoenix showed up as 12.5-point underdogs to the arena and they still took down the Warriors 125-113.
"Maybe with Steph and Wiggs coming back, we probably relaxed a little bit more than we should," Thompson said. "Because we thought just showing up, maybe we'd get the 'W'."
Golden State tried to mount a furious comeback in the final few minutes -- cutting a 27-point deficit to six -- but got snakebit by a litany of mistakes in the first three quarters. The game was marred by some ugly misses, airballs, shot clock violations and lackadaisical defense.
"I did like the fact that we competed in that fourth quarter and fought like crazy," coach Steve Kerr said. "But we have to show that in the first quarter, not the fourth quarter."
This season has been full of head-scratching losses for the reigning NBA champ Warriors. After starting the homestand a perfect 5-0 without Curry and Andrew Wiggins, Golden State has dropped the past three games.
On Tuesday, the Warriors struggled so bad they even got the rare boo treatment from the home crowd in the third quarter. Offensively, Golden State was careless with the ball (15 turnovers) for most of the game and shot just 38.5 percent. Defensively, the Warriors were soft inside (outscored 48-34 in the paint) and slow outside, as the Suns shot 45.2 percent from beyond the arc. The Warriors were also foul-happy and committed 26 violations.
Curry and Wiggins are clearly still getting their game legs underneath them. In his first game back since Dec. 14, Steph struggled offensively through the first three quarters until turning it up a notch in the fourth quarter, finishing with 24 points in 31 minutes. He scored 16 of his 24 in the final period after admittedly going through a "lull" in the middle of the game.
"I felt like I got stronger as the game went on, which is exciting," Curry said.
Wiggins was also quiet offensively (10 points on 5-of-16 shooting) while looking a step slow on defense. Jordan Poole started off timidly but finished with 27 points.
Former Golden State guard Damion Lee received his championship ring before the game and finished with 22 points on just eight shot attempts, as he made all 14 of his free throws. After the game, he made sure to catch up with his brother-in-law, Curry.
The Warriors crept to within six in the fourth quarter to get the crowd back into it, but never got closer to the B-Team Suns. In the three games since beating the Atlanta Hawks in double overtime, Golden State has lacked intensity and cohesion, as they also lost to the lowly Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons.
"I actually told the coaches this could be a good thing, honestly," Kerr said. "You need to have a wakeup call."
Halfway through the season, the Warriors (20-21) have to nail down their identity. Draymond Green thought Golden State looked “gritty” to start the homestand, but that description certainly wouldn’t fit the past two games for the Dubs.
Are they the title-contending team that has showed up intermittently throughout the season? Or have they constructed the most expensive mistake in NBA history? They got 41 more games to find out before the playoffs.
"We just have to find a way to win games," Poole said. "We will, for sure. It takes a little bit of time, but I think it's about time to flip the switch, for sure."
