PHOENIX — The Warriors’ 13th loss of the season, 119-116 to the Phoenix Suns, looked similar to the rest.
The Suns, playing without Kevin Durant, chipped away at a 13-point lead and pummeled the Warriors into the mud in the fourth quarter shortly after Draymond Green’s third ejection of the season on Tuesday night at Footprint Center.
The Warriors had a chance to tie the game up in the final nine seconds, but Steph Curry missed the fadeaway three attempt. Golden State continues to tumble below .500, moving to 10-13 on the year.
There was one bright spot. A lineup of Klay Thompson, Chris Paul, Dario Saric, Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski fueled a 15-2 run to start the second quarter. That lead was sliced down to three points at the half once starters subbed back in with Suns’ Devin Booker checking back in, too.
Notably, Kerr started the second half not with his full starting five, as he usually does, but with Podziemski and Kuminga in for Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney. The rotation changes were further complicated by Green’s Flagrant 2 and ejection for swinging his arm at Jusuf Nurkic mid-way through the third quarter.
Things collapsed without Green. Curry finished with a team-high 24 points shooting 4-of-15 from 3 on an off shooting night. Andrew Wiggins played 15 minutes and was a minus-19.
The Warriors finish off this road trip in Los Angeles, facing the Clippers for a third time in three weeks. Then they return home to take on the Brooklyn Nets before taking off to Portland for a road game against the Trail Blazers next Sunday.
