Golden State Warriors Klay Thompson driving to the basket gets the ball knocked out of his hands by the Phoenix Suns Devin Booker (1) at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Thu Mar 30, 2022 (AP News photo)

Suns Edge Warriors In a Shootout – 107-103

By Barbara Mason

Wednesday night the Golden State Warriors (48-29) took on the best team in the NBA, the Phoenix Suns (62-14).

With Stephen Curry still on the sidelines the Suns were highly favored. The way this game started in the opening quarter all signs pointed toward another Sun road win. They jumped out to a quick 12-2 start. The starting roster for the Suns is a litany of stars. Chris Paul, Devon Booker, Jae Crowder, Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton. A formidable starting lineup. There was no stopping the number one team in the NBA as the Suns won in a close game 107-103 at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Thursday night.

After trailing for much of the first quarter the Warriors started to heat up and after the opening quarter the Suns held a slim 32-29 lead.

Both teams would trade the lead in the second quarter. The Suns continued to lead at the half 50-48. Despite having 14 turnovers in the first half the Warriors were hanging in this game holding the Suns to 36% shooting and only 19% shooting three’s. They had to maintain that defense in the second half.

Much of the Warriors success was due to the shooting of Jordan Poole who had 20 points in the first half. Andrew Wiggins had ten points and Golden State was waiting on Klay Thompson to come to the party. He finished the half with six points and no rebounds with one assist.

The third quarter was a wild wild west shootout with the Warriors taking a seven point lead that quickly dissolved. The Suns had a slim 77-75 lead after three. The Warriors had continued the great defense that they played with in the first half.

The fourth quarter saw a series of ties in the early minutes. The Warriors had 20 turnovers and too many empty possessions. Despite that Golden State refused to go away. With 7:30 left in the game the score was again tied at 86.

The Suns would take a 96-93 lead with 2:59 on the clock. With the great defense that Golden State had played with in this game, they needed their offense to really step up in the final minutes. Draymond Green had key play after key play in this game and was a big reason that the Warriors were still hanging around with every chance to take this game. At two minutes what else, a tie game.

The Suns had a two point lead at the half, a two point lead after three quarters and this game was up for grabs. The Warriors led 101-100 with 39.8 seconds left in this game. The Warriors needed a stop and a little offense and this game could be a wrap.

Golden State came up just short losing by four points. Empty possessions and 20 turnovers spelled disaster for the Warriors. The Warriors did so many great things in this game and it was a tough loss for them.

Poole finished the game with 38 points and this game was a great improvement over their last road trip. This was a great effort for the Warriors and they really looked like contenders in the upcoming playoffs.

The Warriors will have a few days to rest up before taking on the Utah Jazz Saturday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 PM.