Curry scores 34 as Warriors erase 17-point hole, edge Suns 116-113 for fifth straight win
Stephen Curry scored 34 and the Warriors came back from 17 down to beat Phoenix 116-113 in a chippy game that saw Draymond Green ejected.
The Golden State Warriors came back from 17 points down Monday night at Chase Center and beat the Phoenix Suns 116-113. Stephen Curry scored 34 points and the Warriors stretched their winning streak to five games. As NBC Sports Bay Area noted, that is a run they never put together once in all of last season. The streak has turned an 0-3 start into a 5-3 record, and Warriors Wire reports it ties San Antonio for the longest active streak in the league.
The game got heated in the third quarter. USA TODAY Sports reported that Draymond Green fouled Suns center Khaman Maluach and then took him to the floor. Dillon Brooks came over to confront Green, the two traded shoves, and both were given technicals. Warriors On SI noted that Green picked up two technicals in that one sequence, which got him ejected for the first time this season. That made three technicals in all. Curry said afterward that losing Green "lit a fire" under the team, according to NBC Sports Bay Area.
Curry took over from there. He scored 18 of his points in a 42-point third quarter that tied the game at 93. He finished 9 of 21 from the field with five 3-pointers, seven assists and six rebounds in 33 minutes. Fadeaway World counted 11 made free throws in 12 tries, and several of those came in the final minutes. His last three games have produced 44, 31 and 34 points. At 38, in his 18th season, he is averaging exactly 30 a night.
The Warriors needed help from deeper in the roster. Gui Santos, Brandon Williams and Al Horford were all out, and Green's ejection left the rotation even thinner. Brandin Podziemski scored 20, and Charles Bassey had 19 points off the bench. On SI reported that Curry, Podziemski, rookie Yaxel Lendeborg, Bassey and Georges Niang combined for 102 of the team's 116 points. For Phoenix, Devin Booker led the Suns in scoring but fouled out on an offensive foul with 57.6 seconds left. Collin Gillespie's 3-pointer to tie it at the buzzer was well off.
The win also paid back a loss from earlier in the season. Before the game, SB Nation pointed out that Phoenix's only win so far had come against Golden State, a 131-122 result in Phoenix on Oct. 24. The Suns are now 1-4.
What it means for Thursday against Miami
After playing on back-to-back nights, the Warriors get Tuesday and Wednesday off. They host the Miami Heat on Thursday, Nov. 5, on NBA TV. Their season results on ESPN show a team that has turned its form around. Golden State is 3-1 at Chase Center and 2-2 on the road. Over the five-game streak the Warriors have averaged 121 points and allowed 109.6, a margin of about 11 points a game. In the first three games they lost by 22, 3 and 9.
The big questions for Thursday are health and depth. The two days off should help Curry and Green after the back-to-back. How many of Santos, Williams and Horford come back will decide whether Kerr can lean less on the five players who carried Monday's win. Whether Green faces any further discipline from the league for the third-quarter incident has not been reported.
