Suns’ high effort lacks execution late in loss to Warriors
Dec 28, 2024, 9:25 PM
These Phoenix Suns sure play hard but their lack of execution on both ends continues to be a problem, with Saturday’s 109-105 loss to the Golden State Warriors showcasing that in droves.
Both these teams were penciled in among the elite of the Western Conference a couple of weeks into the season before both teams fell off a cliff. The Suns started 9-2 and are now 6-14 since, while the Warriors came in having lost 12 of their last 15 since beginning the year 12-3. Both entered the night 15-15 at play-in positions for the standings.
The key difference on Saturday was how shorthanded the Suns were without Devin Booker (left groin strain), Grayson Allen (concussion protocol) and Jusuf Nurkic (suspension) while Golden State didn’t have Moses Moody (left knee) or Gary Payton II (left calf strain).
This was a game that was probably much more fun to play in than watch, as the competitive energy was as constant as the lack of execution. The third quarter in particular was filled with both teams proving unable of creating major separation, even though the opportunities were there.
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Phoenix showed some good fight to grind through all that and lead by five entering the fourth quarter, mostly off the backs of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. The offense was clicking enough and the energy output defensively was high enough for this to be a pretty solid Suns performance, if not for the handfuls of small mistakes on defensive rotations and lack of rim protection that led to a bunch of Warriors buckets at the basket and open 3s.
Those blunders elevated the performance of two outstanding high-motor contributions from Suns wings.
Royce O’Neale had a rough-looking ankle sprain in the mid-second quarter that ruled him out the rest of the game, which made Ryan Dunn’s best game in weeks all the more vital. The rookie had his touch going from the midrange areas and was aggressive attacking the rim, all while making some plays on the glass and at the basket as a rim protector. Toss in great Josh Okogie minutes that really woke up the Suns in the first half and they got enough from their supporting cast again, somehow.
After three-and-a-half quarters of neither squad delivering an effective blow to put this one away, even when the Suns led by nine with under seven minutes remaining, it was anyone’s guess as to who would be able to execute for a victory. In a predictable conclusion, no one really did until the very end, as you’ll decipher in this recap of the final five minutes.
How did the game slip away from the Suns late?
With just over five minutes to go right out of a timeout, a Beal turnover was followed by a Stephen Curry floater and Beal missed 3. Dennis Schroder scored at the rim and all of a sudden it was 100-99 Suns with 3:45 remaining. Durant then turned it over and the Warriors drew free throws in transition to take the lead.
Curry missed two shots you would pick him to make, allowing Phoenix to get back up two points before a Schroder 3 quickly ended that. Another plodding Suns offensive possession focused on an isolation for either Beal or Durant led to a Durant turnover, and after Phoenix once again escaped a good Curry look not falling, Durant fought for the miss to draw a loose ball foul and sunk both free throws to put it at 105-104 Suns and 30 seconds left.
At long last, execution arrived. It was not via the Suns.
Golden State wonderfully worked a beautiful play using Curry as a decoy that planted Jonathan Kuminga under the basket. Green darted the pass over as Kuminga arrived and he then expertly drew the foul on Durant as the defender recovered.
Both free tosses went down, and in the Suns’ turn at the ATO game, the design worked. Durant came curling around screening action to the top of the key for space to work with, but Beal as the ball-handler put his head down for a drive a second too early while presumably assuming Durant wasn’t getting open. Durant then had to go downhill on Green and Green played his usual spectacular defense to force a miss and win it.
Durant was 10-of-24 for 31 points with six rebounds, three assists and four blocks but turned it over eight times. Beal’s 28 points came on good shooting efficiency (12-for-24), but neither had a field goal in the last 10:52 of the game and combined for just seven points in the fourth quarter.
Dunn scored 13 points and Okogie added 11 with nine rebounds (six offensive), two steals and two blocks.
