Suns crumble at end of first half against Warriors, drop third straight

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns have learned how slim the margin of error can be against good teams at the start of their most recent homestand.

A poor fourth quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday was followed by a disastrous first quarter on Saturday facing the Denver Nuggets.

Devin Booker was quoted after the game Saturday saying, “I think we’ve won six of eight quarters and have two losses.”

Make it three on New Year’s Eve.

After the Suns were tied with the Golden State Warriors at 45 midway through the second quarter, a 24-7 run by the Warriors in the last 5:06 of the first half provided too much insurance for the defending champions. As you might guess, that led to a 132-109 Suns loss.

Phoenix was playing hard, but to take it back to another past point by Booker from Friday, there’s a severe gap you’ll notice watching the Suns against teams that have spent a lot of time together and that was apparent against Golden State.

What’s easy to get sucked into watching the team so often is forgetting they are starting three rookies, something head coach Igor Kokoskov was quick to remind everyone of after the game.

“We have to be a little bit realistic,” Kokoskov said. “It takes time for them to feel comfortable, to grow and we have to support them.

“Understanding they are going to make some mistakes. They are going to hit a wall — physically and mentally, emotionally.”

Once we got to the second half, the wall didn’t go away. The Warriors smelled the blood in the water and started moving the ball with terrific precision to dismantle the Suns’ defense.

Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant performed business as usual for the Warriors, scoring a combined 59 points on 31 shots.

As a team, Golden State shot 60.7 percent through three quarters.

“Playing against the Warriors, they can go on a run at any time,” Booker said. “So attention to detail has to be at an all-time high. Urgency has to be at an all-time high.”

With the Warriors lacking a traditional center and switching nearly everything defensively, the Suns game-planned to get Ayton the ball in the post to attack mismatches.

The success varied. Ayton started 2-of-7 from the field but made his next three shots, sticking with the theme of his great last two weeks in keeping his engagement level high even when things go wrong.

Ayton finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds, his seventh scoring effort of 20 points or more in December.

He continues to progress rapidly, showing off more developments with his footwork on Monday.

🌪 🌪 🌪

Make ya head spin. pic.twitter.com/4c3H3bj5jL

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) January 1, 2019

“Point Book” took the night off. Booker was clearly flipping the switch back to ultra-aggressive scorer who provides for his teammates instead of playing composed and at his own rhythm as a point guard.

While he had six assists, Booker couldn’t find his footing all night as a decision-maker, scoring 20 points on 15 shots and turning the ball over five times.

His defense, most notably, tailed off after an encouraging stretch through most of December.

The Suns’ defense as a whole was never going to keep them in it on Monday, but T.J. Warren’s 24 points along with Ayton’s 25 could have potentially brought on a closer outcome if Booker had it going.

De’Anthony Melton had his best shift of the season in the first quarter, recording five points, a rebound, two assists and three steals. He was consistently making plays on both ends of the court without scoring all that much, a big part of his long-term upside as a point guard.

De'Anthony with the STEAL.
TJ with the FINISH. pic.twitter.com/0XyfvWxy5b

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) January 1, 2019

That, inexplicably, brought on over 10 minutes of playing time for Jamal Crawford off the bench when Melton was the team’s best player in the first quarter.

Kokoskov continues to favor Crawford’s minutes as a veteran even when he doesn’t have his scoring or playmaking going. Crawford had zero points and one assist in that stint.

After winning five of seven, the Suns have lost three straight and there’s no break in the caliber of opponent. It’s the 76ers, Clippers, Hornets and Magic who round out the seven-game homestand, with all four teams sporting a record at or above .500.

The Warriors brought the Suns back to familiar territory with a 23-point margin of defeat.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking another big-time losing skid is coming for the Suns. Granted, these three games were against the top three teams in the Western Conference, but they’ve had quite an up-and-down season with a lot of lows and are trending down after reaching their greatest heights earlier in the month.

As Kokoskov puts it, though, his rotation has an undeniable lack of experience and the expectations have to be tempered because of that.

“No excuses but that’s reality, and we have to face reality,” he said.

But how delicately Kokoskov handles that line to try and get the most out of his team will dictate how much more they can improve going forward.

Follow @KellanOlson