Defensive Tenacity Showed Through When the Warriors Needed it Most Against the Phoenix Suns
Another West Coast tilt tipped off on Thursday night, as the Phoenix Suns welcomed the Golden State Warriors into the Mortgage Matchup Center. Phoenix has had a stout record at home this season, 17-7, and the Warriors have not enjoyed their games away from Chase Center, 10-15. On paper, it was an advantage for Phoenix, especially with Stephen Curry ruled out hours before the game. However, this game went down to the wire, just like the other three contests between these two teams.
In an interesting first quarter, Golden State made just two shots from inside the arc and shot no free throws. Anyone would think that this game was over before it started, but by using “the great equalizer,” otherwise known as three-point shooting, the Warriors hung around. Steve Kerr’s team fired a whopping 20/23 of their first-quarter field goals from outside 24 feet. The Suns out-rebounded the Warriors 16-8 in that frame, despite not necessarily having a visible edge in size.
The second quarter had a different memo than the first, in which Golden State opened up with two layups. The Suns tried to use the aggressive approach of switching every matchup on defense, but that came back to bite them. Kerr’s group used up more shot clocks than they did during the first 12 minutes, leading to more quality looks. Golden State found particular success in playing inside-out basketball, which reached its climax in a highlight-reel play near the end of the second quarter.
Pat Spencer took the ball on the left elbow but was blitzed following an Al Horford screen, where two Suns defenders put the third-year man in a difficult situation. With no obvious passing lane, Spencer got creative and slipped the ball between a leaping defender’s legs, finding Horford. ‘Big Al’ controlled the ball and sprung out a beautiful mid-air spinning dish to Gui Santos, who fired home a deep three. Santos and Spencer really carried the Warriors’ offense, and broke some personal records just by halftime. Santos recorded seven first-half assists, and Spencer swished five first-half threes, four of which came in his scorching-hot first quarter.
Arguably, the best thing that went right for Golden State was taking care of the ball. The team from the Bay had just two turnovers by half, but the ball handling got sloppier in the second 24. As Phoenix ramped up its intensity, fueled by their home crowd, the Warriors began making mistakes. This allowed the Suns to have a slight upper hand, as they always seemed to be a step quicker or a pass sharper. Phoenix retook control of the game with a 27-17 quarter, but Golden State had not said its last words just yet.
The Warriors didn’t allow a single field goal for the last six minutes of the game, going on true lockdown mode as they slowly but surely searched for buckets to draw the game even. The team looked at Horford for solutions to reach and reclaim the lead, as the Warriors center continuously found himself with smaller opponents near the paint. With the ‘Dubs’ up two points and 28 seconds left, Phoenix inbounded the ball to their go-to guy. Dillon Brooks, who finished with a game-high 24 points, took it upon himself to tie the score for his team.
However, the Warriors had again not said their final word. Moses Moody had a quiet game offensively, but drew the assignment for this possession, and played about ten seconds of flawless defense. He then handed Brooks off to De’Anthony Melton following a Phoenix screen, and instead of breaking down from a capable attacker’s moves, Melton clamped down and forced Brooks to a low-percentage heave. The ball clanged off the rim, but no one controlled the rebound. As the teams tousled for another chance and the game clock ticked under seven seconds, Moody dove for the ball to prevent a fresh Phoenix possession. In an incredible heads-up play, he found Melton, who sprinted down the court and converted a layup to seal a gutsy 101-97 win for Golden State.
