PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns were a step behind too often in all the facets of Thursday’s 101-97 loss to the Golden State Warriors.
With both sides shorthanded, Golden State played five-out all night and seamlessly generated 3-pointer after 3-pointer.
You could argue that any time a team attempts 37 of its 55 triples in the first half they are forcing it, but the Suns’ defense was lagging on the ball and their rotations behind that were not nearly as smooth as they had to be. It was clinical for the Warriors to “take what the defense gave them.”
That allowed their group without Stephen Curry (right patellofemoral pain syndrome), Jimmy Butler (ACL tear) and a trio it traded comprised of Buddy Hield, Jonathan Kuminga and Trayce Jackson-Davis to more than have a shot at a win.
It clearly meant a ton to Golden State. Head coach Steve Kerr said after it felt like the Warriors “won the championship” and the group “needed it.” They were previously 1-5 when down their two stars.
It was another night for Phoenix without Devin Booker (right ankle sprain) and Jalen Green (right hip injury management/left hip contusion), where shot quality from deep was an issue, rarely yielding clean catch-and-shoot 3s and instead having highly volatile pull-up looks. After a whole lot of those looks went in during Tuesday’s win, they were not falling in the first half at 7 for 21 (33%).
But Phoenix shot 75% from two-point range to counter the Warriors’ 15 3s and Golden State didn’t produce much offensively beyond that, so the halftime deficit was only four.
The Suns, though, had to start denying some 3s for Golden State and forcing giveaways. The Suns had only forced two turnovers to that point.
Both of those asks came to fruition in a 27-17 Suns third quarter. They caused five turnovers, and more importantly, held the Warriors to 1-for-10 3-point shooting in that frame and 3 for 15 overall.
That got the Suns’ lead up to six and it quickly grew to 14 less than two minutes into the final frame. It got cut to four with under five minutes left and then two a handful of possessions later, which included Grayson Allen hobbling back to the locker room after tweaking his right knee and not returning.
With the Warriors down two and calling a timeout at just over a minute to go, they were able to generate a great look at the rim off of a De’Anthony Melton drive. Phoenix’s ensuing possessions resulted in Collin Gillespie getting blocked at the rim and the run-out for a Warriors layup put Phoenix behind.
An isolation for Dillon Brooks out of the timeout never got anywhere, and his difficult step-back 3 did not go down while killing the clock down to 12 seconds. The miss resulted in a scramble for multiple loose balls the Warriors eventually came away with to run out the rest of the time.
The Suns scored two points in the final 7:19 of the loss.
Suns head coach Jordan Ott alluded to a halt of ball movement being one of the culprits.
“We gotta find ways to get offensive rebounds.”
Suns coach Jordan Ott reacts to the final possession in a late loss to the Warriors.
Golden State scored 10 unanswered points to win. pic.twitter.com/uENUQwHENI
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) February 6, 2026
Phoenix has three more games remaining till the NBA All-Star break, beginning Saturday and ending with back-to-back games Tuesday and Wednesday.
The concern now grows much more for the return of either Booker or Green given Allen’s uncertain status.
Warriors forward Pat Spencer scored a career-high 20 points largely via a career-high six triples. His previous best 3s mark was three.
Brooks worked his way to 24 points on 24 shots, making 10, while Allen was at 21 points on 7-of-17 shooting before exiting.
Both second-chance points (13-13) and points off of turnovers (14-13 Warriors) were far too tight of margins for Phoenix to succeed offensively in this state. Ott mentioned all of that in his assessment, as well as a 15-1 Warriors edge in made free throws for the second half.
“We gotta find ways to get offensive rebounds. That’s what we’ve done so well,” Ott said. “There for a stretch we couldn’t turn ’em over, especially in the first half.”
Booker has now missed seven straight games and remains in the “day-to-day” purgatory when it comes to any updates we can provide so you know when he could possibly return.
Green’s up to three straight absences and will have now missed a full week since his fall. While the team continues to say it’s his hip, the right hamstring keeps getting listed, which at the minimum means it will be a factor in ramping back up.
Ott emphasized pregame it’s how Green’s body is responding to the work the day before, hence his questionable designation for each of these nights he has been out.
Isaiah Livers injured his left shoulder in the first half and did not return.