Warriors 108, Suns 98
OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Golden State Warriors snapped a six-game losing streak, using two game-saving hoops by Stephen Curry to regain control late in the fourth quarter en route to a 108-98 home victory over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night.
The Warriors (31-23) never trailed after giving up the first bucket and held on to win a game coach Mark Jackson had labeled beforehand as the club's "biggest" of the season. They hadn't won since beating the Suns 113-93 at home on Feb. 2.
They beat the Suns for the third consecutive time this season and fifth in a row overall.
With Klay Thompson igniting a fast start, the Warriors led by as many as 10 in the first quarter and 11 in the third before watching the Suns (18-37) score the first six points of the final period to close within 85-82.
A follow shot by Jermaine O'Neal had Phoenix within 94-90 with 4:17 to go, but Curry hit a tough left-hander over Goran Dragic and nailed a 3-pointer over his point-guard rival to create a nine-point gap and breathing room again.
David Lee capped a game-clinching 7-0 run with an 8-foot hook, and when Jarrett Jack turned Andrew Bogut's feed into the Warriors' 10th 3-pointer, at the 1:45 mark, Golden State finally was able to make its season-worst losing streak a distant memory.
Thompson had 21 of his game-high 28 points in the first half. Jack (21 points) and Curry (20) also had big scoring nights, and Lee contributed 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Also playing a major role in the win was Bogut, who was playing on back-to-back nights for the first time since reinjuring his left ankle in November. He logged 29 minutes, helping the cause with seven points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
Dragic led the Suns, who were coming off a 102-98 win at Portland on Tuesday night, with 20 points and 10 assists. O'Neal also recorded a double-double off the bench with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Jared Dudley added 15 points and Luis Scola 14 for the Suns, who shot 47.6 percent from the field and yet became the first Warriors opponent to be held under 100 points in the past four games.
On Klay Thompson Bobblehead Night, the second-year pro came out firing like someone who wanted a statue erected. He buried his first six shots, including a pair of 3s, to propel the Warriors to a 29-19 lead in the 10th minute of the game.
Jack and Curry also had 3s in the early runaway as Golden State hit 14 of 19 shots in the first quarter en route to a 33-26 advantage. Thompson's 14 points were his best as a pro in a first period.
Despite 13 points by Dragic and an energetic eight-point, five-rebound burst from O'Neal off the bench, the Suns got no closer than four in the second period and went into halftime down 57-49 as Thompson completed a 21-point half and Bogut enjoyed arguably his best stretch since returning from his ankle injury.
Bogut set the tone for improved passing and defensive efforts by the Warriors. He had two blocked shots as Golden State held an opponent under 50 points in a first half for the first time this month. He also added three assists to Curry's eight as the Warriors logged 19 assists on just 22 hoops.
NOTES: The Suns refused to comment on a reported three-team trade that would reunite brothers Marcus and Markieff Morris, the former Kansas University standouts, in Phoenix. In the proposed deal that would move seven players, mostly between the Rockets and Kings, the Suns would get Marcus Morris from Houston in exchange for a future second-round pick. "I've never coached it. I've never played with it," Suns coach Alvin Gentry said of the intriguing possibility of having brothers on his roster. ... Markieff Morris was one of five reserves who teamed to contribute 40 points to the Suns' win at Portland on Tuesday. ... The victory over the Trail Blazers was just the Suns' sixth road win of the season. They also had played on the road the following night on two of those occasions, losing by an average of 24.5 points to the Pistons and Hornets. ... Despite a losing streak that reached six with Tuesday's loss at Utah, Warriors coach Mark Jackson admitted making a change in his starting lineup "never entered my mind." Instead, Jackson said his players would be on a "shorter leash," adding, "No threats. ... Our margin of error is different because we're not playing the same." ... When told Jackson had labeled the game the biggest of the Warriors' season, Gentry countered with, "It's a good test for us because they're going to play with desperation." ... The game pitted two of just six players in the NBA who began the day averaging at least 14.0 points, 6.0 assists and 1.5 steals: the Suns' Goran Dragic and Warriors' Stephen Curry.
