Georges Niang broke the fourth quarter’s fifth tie with a 3-pointer, Stephen Curry capped a 34-point performance with five subsequent free throws and a key steal, and the Golden State Warriors outlasted the Phoenix Suns 116-113 on Monday night in San Francisco to secure their fifth straight victory.
After losing Draymond Green to a third-quarter ejection, the Warriors overcame a 17-point deficit to forge a 106-all tie on two free throws by Charles Bassey with 4:39 to play.
Curry then misfired on a 3-pointer, but De’Anthony Melton snatched the offensive rebound and found Niang for an open 24-footer that gave Golden State the lead for good at 109-106 with 3:54 to go.
The lead remained three after two Curry free throws with 2:06 remaining, and when the Warriors star slapped the ball away from Devin Booker, Brandin Podziemski converted the turnover into two foul shots and a 113-108 advantage with just 1:47 to play.
Phoenix got within 113-112 on a Jalen Green dunk with 14.2 seconds remaining, but Curry then iced the win with three more free throws in the final 7.4 seconds.
Curry finished 11-for-12 at the line, including his first miss of the season, and 5-for-13 on 3-pointers during his third 30-point effort of the season. He also found time for a team-high seven assists along with six rebounds.
With Al Horford, Brandon Williams and Gui Santos all given the night off, Podziemski was Curry’s primary sidekick with 20 points, while Bassey added a career-best 19 points to go with a team-high eight rebounds. Yaxel Lendeborg chipped in with 16 points and Niang tallied 13.
Devin Booker had 26 points and Miles Bridges added 21 for the Suns, who beat the Warriors 131-122 in Phoenix on Oct. 24. That remains the Suns’ only win of the season, and is also Golden State’s most recent loss.
Jalen Green totaled 11 points, eight rebounds, a game-high eight assists, two steals and two blocks for Phoenix, while Dillon Brooks had 18 points and eight rebounds. Oso Ighodaro contributed 14 points off the bench.
Using an early 16-4 spurt to go up 34-19, the Suns never trailed until a Bassey layup on Golden State’s first possession of the fourth quarter put the hosts up 95-93.
–Field Level Media
