Phoenix Suns have another drama-filled game that ends in win, Draymond Green ejection

The Phoenix Suns either like late-game drama or haven’t learned from past experiences.

Probably a bit of both.

They found themselves in another situation of nearly squandering a late lead in Tuesday’s 119-116 survival over Golden State before a sellout crowd of 17,071 at Footprint Center, in which some fans left the arena when the Suns were up 12 points with under three minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The much-needed win came in Bradley Beal’s return after losing four of their previous five. The Suns were without Kevin Durant (ankle), Grayson Allen (groin), Nassir Little (concussion protocols, orbital fracture) and lost Josh Okogie to a right hip injury in the first half.

Devin Booker scored 12 of his game-high 32 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Suns (13-10) while Stephen Curry paced the Warriors (10-13) with 24 points on 24 shot attempts.

Golden State also lost Draymond Green in the third quarter to an ejection after he clocked Suns 7-footer Jusuf Nurkic in the face on a play that was reviewed and upgraded to a flagrant 2.

Fine, suspension probably incoming.

Phoenix (13-10) plays Brooklyn (12-10) in the second of a home back-to-back Wednesday as Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson will make their return against their former team.

Here's what we learned in the game against Golden State.

Can’t consistently close games

Frank Vogel fumed out following the narrow win, saying they couldn’t keep doing this to themselves in much more colorful language.

How can a team up 111-99 with 2:30 left and have three different players in Beal, Goodwin and Nurkic turn the ball over in a minute span that led to the Warriors cutting Phoenix’s lead to five and a heated Vogel calling a timeout?

They talk, take the court and Goodwin hoists a corner 3 with 11 seconds on the shot clock that led to rookie Brandin Podziemski scoring in transition and another Vogel timeout just 23 seconds after the last one.

Really. Really?

The Suns are 7-6 in games decided by 10 points or less for a reason.

Multiple reasons in fact. Will address later.

Now, Goodwin had a solid game, posting 16 points, six assists to just one turnover and five rebounds. He helped relieve pressure off Booker and Beal to handle the ball at times, but that corner 3 was avoidable.

Didn’t help it hit off the side of the backboard.

Then Gordon launched one with 12 seconds on the shot clock.

The looks Gordon and Goodwin got were out of double teams Beal and Nurkic drew, the Warriors had solid contests on both, but they had time to get a better look.

However, the Suns giving up a layup to Podziemski after a missed three is the bigger concern. Just a five-lane highway to the lane for a guy who finished with 20 points, 12 above his season average.

The Suns have had injuries that have hindered chemistry, but regardless of who has played, they’ve also had their share of struggles with turnovers and allowing points in the paint and in transition.

All three showed their ugly head in another drama-filled final two minutes of play.

Draymond Green didn’t have to go there

He issued an apology, but said Nurkic was pulling at his hip and he swung back to sell the call.

“As you know, I’m not one to apologize for things I meant to do, but I do apologize to Jusuf because I didn’t intend to hit him,” Green said after the game. “I sell calls with my arms.”

He really sold that one which will probably result in a fine and possible suspension.

Look, the Warriors don’t win four NBA championships in eight years without Green. He’s a rare talent who has helped Golden State become a dynasty without scoring.

Rebounding. Defense. Passing. Intensity.

He’s given the Warriors an edge that has allowed everyone else to wear a uniform there to just play basketball and he’ll do all the dirty work. That same edge has boiled over multiple times and the Warriors have chosen to live with those moments because Green provides the intangibles that are valuable.

However, he’s having more and more of those moments with this one coming less than a month after his five-game suspension for “escalating” the Warriors-Timberwolves incident with that headlock on Rudy Gobert.

The Jordan Poole fight is well documented.

The one-game suspension for stepping on Domantas Sabonis’ chest in last year’s playoffs was somehow turned into some sort of rally cry for the Warriors to win the series in seven.

Green doesn’t have to go there, but he’s survived and thrived in this league being intense. As Booker said, “He wears his emotions and every top competitor does, but it got out of hand.”

That’s Green in a nutshell. There’s a thin line between emotional and reckless and at times, he crosses it.

“I feel like he picks and chooses who he wants to go at," said Suns forward Chimezie Metu, who had words for Green after the incident.

The crazy part about all this is Steve Kerr made a halftime adjustment to start Green at the five and go with Jonathan Kuminga and Podziemski instead of Kevon Looney and Andrew Wiggins.

The move was working.

The Warriors were leading. Green opened the second half with a layup and later had an assist.

Kuminga and Podziemski gave them more perimeter defense.

Then Green was running off the court to boos with an ejection and The Suns turned what was a five-point deficit with 8:23 left in the third into a five-point lead with 3:17 in the quarter.

Green “selling” the call factored into the Warriors losing just as much as Curry shooting 8-of-24 because the Suns were going to likely have to make an adjustment to that small ball lineup.

Beal’s return, Metu’s start, and five minutes of Bol Bol

Beal seemed to be moving fine and said his back was good after the game. Got to take his word for it right now.

Beal knocked down his first shot, a 3, but wound up 5-of-12 from the field, going 1-of-3 from deep in scoring 16 points. He’s on a minute restriction and isn’t in great condition, but took a step forward Tuesday.

We'll see how Beal responds in the second of back-to-back games and if he can find his flow in the offense, especially if Durant makes his return against his former team.

Metu finished with 14 points and five rebounds in his start as all five starters reached double figures.

He isn’t a dominant rebounder, which didn’t matter Tuesday with Nurkic racking up 17 points and 13 boards, but it will in games in which Nurkic is in foul trouble.

Metu playing the four would enable Durant to shift to the three, but that four must rebound because the five can be occupied defending pick-and-roll or boxing out a big man.

Metu can stretch the floor from 3 (3-of-5 Tuesday). Suns needed it, but will Vogel stick with him in the lineup regardless of who they play or continue to base that fourth or fifth starter off matchups?

Five minutes: Bol Bol minus-16

His minus-16, which reflects how the team did while a player was on the court, makes Bol Bol’s night look even worse.

On the wrong end of Kuminga’s dunk. Gave up a jump shot. Didn’t score on one shot attempt.

If Vogel is going to give Bol a real look, it’s going to come with stretches like that until he finds some sort of comfort zone with whoever is on the floor with him. The guy has a crazy skill set for someone 7-foot-2, but quite frankly, just looks lost out there.

Playing just a total of 12 minutes in five games must be taken into consideration.

However, if Bol is going to see more than just a rare guest appearance, he must come into and make an immediate impact.

Durant-Bol: Kevin Durant shows ridiculous shot making over 7-footer Bol Bol in practice

Get a steal. Block a shot. Dunk on someone. Knock down a 3. Something to make the coaches say, hey, we need to play him more.

Without that, he'll once again find himself on the bench on the regular again.

Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What we learned from Suns near collapse late again in win vs. Warriors