SAN FRANCISCO – Jimmy Butler made a clutch three-point play with 54.6 seconds remaining, and the Warriors bounced back from their heartbreaking loss in Phoenix two days ago and beat the Suns 119-116 on Saturday at Chase Center.
Butler scored 25 points, while Stephen Curry went deep into his bag of tricks with 28 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Will Richard added 20 points and Brandin Podziemski scored 11 for the Warriors, who ended their three-game losing streak with their third win in their previous eight games.
Butler’s basket had the Chase Center crowd rocking but the Warriors still had to sweat out the final minute. Collin Gillespie’s desperation heave from just behind the arc pulled the Suns within 117-116 with 9.8 seconds left.
After Curry scored on a reverse layup with 5.7 seconds remaining, the Suns had one final chance but couldn’t get a clean look off.
It was a much more enjoyable end to the evening for Dub Nation, 48 hours after the Warriors fell one point short, losing 99-98 in Phoenix on a late, controversial foul call.
This time around, the Warriors (14-15) made sure the game wasn’t decided in the final minutes nor did it come down to a foul call.
It wasn’t a complete beauty of a game but it was just enough to bring the positive vibes back to Chase Center.
This one had a little of everything. Curry making his patented step-back 3-pointer, Draymond Green earning two technical fouls and an ejection, and Phoenix’s Dillon Brooks continuing to prove himself to be the biggest antagonist in the NBA.
The two teams came out firing and combined for 76 points in the first quarter. The Warriors had respectable shooting numbers (13-for-23) while the Suns knocked down shots at a clip of nearly 71 percent.
Curry had 12 of his points in the second quarter as Golden State chipped away at the lead and got within 67-64 at the half.
The game flipped in the third quarter when Butler got aggressive and scored 12 points to give the Warriors a 93-87 edge heading into the final 12 minutes.
Here are the takeaways from the Warriors’ skid-busting win:
Richard pushes for more time
For a guy who hadn’t played in nearly two weeks, Richard looked fresh and crisp in his return to the rotation while providing a needed spark off the bench.
Richard made his first six shots, including a clutch putback off DeAnthony Melton’s missed free throw in the final seconds of the first half and a heat-check 3-pointer in the third quarter,
Richards had been a healthy DNP in the Warriors’ previous three games but was active all night and played like a man looking to earn a spot in the rotation against the Suns, snatching five rebounds in 19 minutes.
Richards’ extended minutes came at the expense of Buddy Hield, who was held out and did not play for the first time this season.
Bullying the bully
Brooks certainly won’t be getting any Christmas cards this year from the Warriors, and it’s not just because of the cheap shot he took on Curry a few days ago in Phoenix.
The NBA super-villian was booed heartily by the Chase Center crowd whenever he touched the ball, then early in the first quarter, the Warriors gave Brooks a little taste of his own medicine when Butler grabbed the ball during a timeout and purposely shoved it into Brooks’ chest.
A referee was standing nearby but declined to call an infraction on Butler, and Brooks tried to plead his case to deaf ears while the crowd chuckled.
In the third quarter, Trayce Jackson-Davis set a hard screen that sent Brooks sprawling onto the court as the crowd again cheered, though TJD was called for an offensive foul.
While Golden State won that part of the battle, Brooks gave the Warriors’ defense trouble all night. He went 5-for-5 shooting in the first quarter and finished with 22 points and five rebounds.
Doing without Draymond
The Warriors had to play the final 34 minutes without their best defender when Green was slapped with a pair of technicals and ejected for the first time this season.
Green had blocked a shot by Gillespie, then bumped into Gillespie hard from behind as the two jogged to the other end of the court. The two men exchanged words and Green was hit with the first T.
Surprised by the call, Green continued to argue with an official, which ultimately got him the second tech and ejection. His final stat line of four points and three assists didn’t factor much into the final outcome but he’s the Warriors’ enforcer whose energy in many ways provides the heartbeat for this club.
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