Suns Spots: Suns can’t stop hot-shooting Warriors, fall 107-92

Sure, you could read the box score and know who won, but we all know that won’t tell you everything that happened in a basketball game. So, we will give you Suns Spots providing you with the analysis, quotes and notes from the Suns 107-92 loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Final Score: Warriors 107, Suns 92

The Story:

After an impressive 28-point first quarter, the Suns looked very much like a team playing on back-to-back nights. Phoenix dug themselves a hole heading into halftime, after getting outscored by 12 in the second quarter. From there, the Warriors shot themselves to a comfortable double-digit victory.

The Good:

Even in defeat there are silver linings, and Tuesday’s come from Luis Scola and Marcin Gortat. Scola wasn’t very active on the glass, but was very effective from the field, scoring 16 points to go along with three assists.

Gortat played more minutes than any other start against Golden State, but he made every one count. The Polish center was perfect Tuesday night, scoring 19 points on 8-of-8 shooting from the field. He also led the team with 10 rebounds to finish off his double-double.

The Bad:

A night after playing terrific team defense against the Kings, the Suns looked disinterested against Golden State.
The Warriors shot 57 percent from the field and 60 percent from three-point range, and if not for their ineptitude from the charity stripe, the final margin might have been as high as 20.

In addition to their defensive woes, the Suns got very little contribution off their bench outside of second-year forward Markeiff Morris.

The game changed in the second quarter, largely because Phoenix’s subs couldn’t keep up offensively.

Wes Johnson and Jermaine O’Neal both were held scoreless in a combined 23 minutes of play. P.J. Tucker and Sebastian Telfair weren’t much better, contributing six points combined in 24 minutes of play.

Shannon Brown was not shy shooting the basketball, but he had just seven points to show for his 10 attempts.

Noted:

• A night after committing 22 turnovers, the Suns were sloppy with the basketball yet again. It’s still the preseason, but 17 turnovers leading to 20 points is never a good trend to have.

• The Suns gave Luke Zeller and Diante Garrett a look Tuesday night. The two training camp invitees were rather silent though in what could be one of their final auditions.

• Former UNC teammates Kendall Marshall and Harrison Barnes squared off for the first time in their careers. Barnes, the No. 7 overall pick, clearly looks to be further ahead in his maturation entering the season. The Warriors’ rookie finished with 16 points and seven rebounds.

• It was a tale of two nights for Jared Dudley. Less than 24 hours after he led the Suns with 25 points in a win over the Kings, the sixth-year pro was rather ineffective in his 19 minutes of play. Dudley finished with two points and went 1-for-6 from the field.

Coming Up Next:

The Suns return home Friday night to face the new-look Denver Nuggets and forward Andre Iguodala. Tip at U.S. Airways Center is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and the game can be seen on ESPN2.