The Golden State Warriors didn't play a perfect game, by any means, in their narrow 99-98 loss to the Phoenix Suns. But it did not make it any easier to swallow a debatable foul call in the final seconds of the game that helped Phoenix secure the win.
On the final possession of regulation, with the game tied 98-98, Moses Moody fouled Suns guard Jordan Goodwin on a rebound attempt after a Dillon Brooks miss with 0.4 seconds left to play. With the Suns in the bonus, the foul on Moody sent Goodwin to the line, where he split the free throws.
After the game, Steve Kerr expressed his disappointment with the game-deciding foul call.
“It's hard to believe that the game was decided on that call,” Kerr said.
“On an airball that hits the side of the backboard. [The] guys behind the bench told me that Moses got all ball. Everybody's tangled up. To me, it better be a foul to decide the game on a play like that. So, disappointing that we didn't get to go overtime because I thought our guys executed and did a great job in the last few minutes of giving ourselves a chance.”
Trailing by five with 41.2 seconds left to play, the Warriors got a spark of life thanks to a flagrant foul by Brooks after the Suns wing chopped Stephen Curry in the midsection after a missed 3-pointer. It gave the Dubs two free throws and the ball, which Butler took advantage of by draining a triple on the subsequent inbound.
Butler finished with 31 points on 11-of-17 shooting and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line, a good game for the veteran star after the Warriors emphasized needing more of his scoring abilities.
Turnovers, missed shots, dry spells
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) reacts against the Phoenix Suns in the second half at Mortgage Matchup Center.
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Still, the game-deciding foul was simply the straw that broke the camel's back in the why of how the Warriors lost their third game in a row. As has been the story of their season thus far, turnovers and missed shots were what did them in.
The Warriors surrendered 20 turnovers for the fifth time this season. Phoenix converted those 20 turnovers into 30 points, which zapped the Dubs' spirits.
“We turned it over quite a bit,” Kerr said. “I thought we let our shoulders drop a little bit. Energy, spirit, let ourselves feel sorry for ourselves when they made their run… We've just got to be sharper with the ball. We git to be better with our body language and our energy.”
Along with the turnovers came a ton of missed shots on a ton of open looks. Golden State shot 12-of-42 from beyond the arc, with every Warrior other than Butler struggling mightily on offense. Curry finished with only 15 points on 3-of-13 shooting. Moody went 1-of-6 from distance. Quinten Post, a high volume 2-of-10 from deep.
“We got good looks. Sometimes the ball doesn't go in, and that happens… A tough night shooting, but you can still win those games,” Kerr said, pointing to the lulls in execution and excessive turnovers.
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But ultimately, the Warriors are going to have to start knocking down the makeable jumpers.
Entering the game, they ranked fifth in the league in shot quality, a perplexingly positive stat given that they rank 20th in offensive rating. But that jarring juxtaposition between those two stats was on full display in this loss, exemplified in how they went 4-of-13 from the corner. They generated 13 shots in one of the most efficient locations on the floor and shot less than 25% from that area.
Urgency creeping in for the Warriors
The loss will drop the Warriors to 13-15 on the season, two games below .500, and 6-9 in their last 15 games. There are no moral victories in a loss like this, and the Warriors know it.
After the game, at the podium, Draymond Green somberly examined the statsheet, pointing out the stats that stood out to him – 20 turnovers, 30 points off turnovers, 39.3% shooting, 28.8% 3-point shooting. Golden State understands the mistakes they are making, the problems plaguing them in losses. But how they solve those issues remains their white whale.
The Warriors tried jumbling the rotation, which created more questions than answers. They've harped on needing more energy, better spirits, which come and go with the wins and the losses. And right now they're losing.
There's blame to be placed on their arduous schedule– Golden State has played 17 of their 41 road games in just 28 games so far this season. And there's even an argument that could be made about other teams playing above their ceiling against the Warriors. But that's life in the NBA, and Curry understands that.
“If you're going to be a good team, you're able to overcome that,” Curry said after the loss. “We obviously aren’t a good team right now because of what our record says, and the fact that we find ourselves in these kinds of positions.”
The Warriors are at their lowest point right now, and it's on them to turn it around.
“I do like that it's challenging us and giving us a sense of urgency,” Curry continued. “But if we're going to do anything relevant this year, feeling this pain and searching a little bit could be a good thing. If we do something about it. That's the moment we're in right now.”