Warriors handle business, emphatically
Business handled.
With the Western Conference standings as congested as possible, the Golden State Warriors entered the final week of the regular season knowing they needed to handle business. Specifically, they needed to win their three weekday games — against lottery-bound teams — to set up a Sunday showdown with the LA Clippers, which could have huge implications for the playoff seeds.
The first step was an emphatic success. The Golden State Warriors headed to the desert for their penultimate road game of the year. When the schedule was first set, an April game against the Phoenix Suns projected to be vital for both teams. But Phoenix has had a massively disappointing season, and with former Warrior Kevin Durant sidelined, the Suns season is all but over. They entered the night with a six-game losing streak, and it didn’t take long for the Warriors to prove that it would be a seven-game losing streak by the time the final buzzer sounded.
Golden State had no interest in playing with their food on Tuesday. Their offense came out firing on all cylinders, with the ball moving around in a way that surely put a smile on Steve Kerr’s face. Steph Curry, held to just three points in Sunday’s loss against the Houston Rockets, made it clear from the opening tip that he would not have a repeat performance. He got everything he wanted against Phoenix’s lackluster offense, and finished the first quarter with a highly-efficient 13 points.
The Warriors defense was fine, if not dominant, but the offense was clicking. They led 37-24 after the first quarter, and it truly felt like the game was over.
Phoenix never did anything to challenge that presumption. The second quarter started in dominant fashion for the Warriors, with their defense locking down, forcing turnover after turnover. Bradley Beal and Devin Booker, who combined for just 28 points on 25 shots (plus seven free throw attempts) had no answers for Golden State’s fast-reacting, hyper-active defense.
Golden State’s offense matched the defensive output. With Quinten Post a late scratch due to illness, Trayce Jackson-Davis got some early minutes and looked fantastic, giving the Warriors an athletic rim-rolling presence that Phoenix both had no answer for, and seemed to have no interest in having an answer for.
The offensive rebounds and buckets piled up for the Warriors while the turnovers and missed shots piled up for the Suns. It culminated in Buddy Hield making a second-chance three, followed by a stop and a Kevon Looney layup, which punctuated a 19-4 run, and gave the Warriors a 58-35 run. There was a sense that the Suns would call the game there, if they could.
At one point the lead ballooned to 28 points, before settling in at 69-43 at the break. Curry had scored 19 points and Brandin Podziemski, continuing his hot streak, had used a second-quarter burst to score 17 in the half. They had won the turnover battle 10-2, and the points off turnovers battle 15-3. It was fairly clear there would be no second half meltdown.
And there was no flirtation with one, either. The Warriors came out of the half like the team losing by 26, not the team winning by that margin. Curry clearly had a desire to put the game away early, and scored the first five points of the frame, with a vicious Moses Moody dunk making it a 7-0 Warriors run to start the quarter.
From there it was just window dressing. The Warriors led by a dominant figure until the buzzer rang, securing a 133-95 win. The starters rested for the entirety of the fourth quarter, giving them some valuable rest, which is important as they have a back-to-back on Wednesday, when they host the San Antonio Spurs.
Curry led the way with 25 points, nine rebounds, and six assists, while shooting 9-for-17 from the field, 3-for-9 from deep, and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Podziemski finished with 22 points, five rebounds, and three assists, on 7-for-12 shooting, including 4-for-6 on threes and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. Jackson-Davis added 13 points, with 10 points each for Jonathan Kuminga and Jimmy Butler III, as well as for Pat Spencer and Kevin Knox II in their extended garbage time minutes.
The win proved extra important, as the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Charlotte Hornets earlier in the night. A loss by the Warriors would have seen them slide back into the play-in tournament seeding. Instead, they will hang onto the sixth seed, assuming the LA Clippers, who are beating the Spurs at the time of publication, hang on to win (if the Clippers lose, the Warriors will move up to the fifth seed).
Golden State also got some help from the Milwaukee Bucks, who beat the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves are now a game behind the Warriors, and the Dubs have the tiebreaker. That means that Golden State would have to completely fall apart to slide down to the eighth seed. The Warriors also moved into a tie with the Denver Nuggets, though the Nuggets hold that tiebreaker. But with Denver in disarray following the shocking firing of coach Michael Malone, it’s very possible that the Warriors slide past them.