Over the last three games, the Golden State Warriors have struggled down the stretch in the fourth quarter. In each game, the Warriors held the lead in the fourth quarter, but failed to win the game. On Saturday night at Chase Center, the Warriors appeared to find an answer down the stretch against the Phoenix Suns on the way to snapping their three-game losing streak.
Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler combined for 53 points to halt Golden State’s three-game slide and secure a much-needed victory, 119-116. Butler helped pace Golden State’s offense throughout the game, scoring 10 points in the opening frame and another 12 points in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Steph Curry came alive, scoring 14 of his team-high 28 points in the final 12 minutes. Curry hit a pair of clutch 3-pointers to stall Phoenix’s late comeback attempt. Curry also scored Golden State’s final four points, including a bucket with 5.7 seconds remaining to give the Warriors a 3-point lead in the final seconds.
Alongside Curry and Butler, rookie Will Richard played an unlikely hero on Saturday night in one of his best performances of the season. In 19 minutes off the bench, Richard tallied 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field with four made 3-pointers to go along with five boards. Richard’s 20 points was his second-highest scoring total of his rookie campaign. The Florida product hasn’t played for the last three games with his last action coming on Dec. 7 against the Chicago Bulls.
The Warriors will now get Sunday off before heading into the holiday week. The Warriors will host the Orlando Magic on Monday night before waiting to meet Cooper Flagg, Klay Thompson and the Dallas Mavericks on Christmas Day.
This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!